Mass Effect: The Insanity Run Update

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den!

So yesterday, I finally got my brand new power supply for my Xbox 360, and it works GREAT.  It's as quiet as my first one was when the console was brand new.  And with this in mind, it reminded of something that I learned when repairing my PS2 a few years ago; third party companies care more about keeping your stuff running once the console's lifespan is over.

Now, to keep up interest in this "project", I'm going to post the entry data partially filled in, since I'm still on the setup run for this round.

1. Name: George Shepard
2. Background-"It's not about how hard you can get hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and get back up." No phrase has meant more in the life of George Shepard than this.  Born on Earth and given to an orphanage while he was still in diapers, he lived there until it was closed down when he was 10.  Forced onto the streets at that point, he was recruited by the Tenth Street Reds as a pickpocket due to his small size, but became more of a bruiser as he got older and bigger. 

   But he always wanted more; he worked toward getting his high school diploma equivalent and trained at how to fight at the local YMCA.  And when he finally turned 18, he left his life on Earth behind and joined the Systems Alliance Navy.  And life in the military fulfilled him; he worked as a marine during his on duty time, and studied for his college degree in his off.  And things went great until he was sent to Akuze during the first year of his second enlistment.  He lost his entire unit there during the attack of a Thresher Maw, and he had to spend a month seeing a psychiatrist to help with the stress of the horrors he saw.  But George is not giving up; he refuses to give up on himself or the galaxy. He will still do whatever he can to make him self, and the galaxy, better.

    
3. Class-Soldier
4. Extra power-Barrier
5. Build-Since the first game is very much a run and gun, especially in close quarters, I've build George to be able to soak up damage.  This means I've focused on Barrier, getting my armor to max and getting the shield recharge and boosting Fitness to get both health and Immunity. I've also taken Shock Trooper, to boost health, damage protection, and give bonuses to Immunity.
6. Created on date-This one will be the date I start the insanity run; so it will be the day that the level 56 version of George will start.
7. Setup-What level and gear I start the run with.  This will be more clear when I do the first entry.
8. Companion tier-How good each companion is based on the difficulty and my build.  And I want to make things clear; just because I don't like a companion's characterization doesn't mean they're automatically low tier.  For example, Baldur's Gate 2 has an incredibly annoying character in Aerie, but she's incredibly useful due to her being able to use both arcane and clerical magic. So I use her when I'm doing a run where I'm not using Viconia, who is a pure cleric.
9. Level of frustration-How angry I got with the BS the game throws at me.  Like I said, I'm not going for the challenge, so I'm going to get mad at the cheap stuff the game throws at me.
10. Content completed-The vanilla game, and Bring Down the Sky.  Pinnacle Station was used to gear up for this run, but due to the buffs that even low level enemies get on Insanity, a couple missions get really, really cheap.
11. Achievements I'm going for-Medal of Valor, the only achievement I have left to get on this game.
12. Finish date
13. Final thoughts-This is where I wrap up my feelings on the run.

The entries for setup, companion tear, level of frustration, finish date and final thoughts will be filled in when I get to the run, and upon completion.  The only loadout I know without question that I'm going to have for a companion right now is Ashley, since I get a full copy of Shepard's gear at the start of an imported run; so my Spectre X guns and Colossus armor will go on Ashley.  But I can't guarantee whether I'll be able to get Colossus armors for everyone else in this run, nor can I guarantee that everyone will have Savant biotic amps (I'd have them with Savant omnitools too, but for some reason, ME1 on Xbox 360 deletes those unless Shepard has one equipped.)  I could also kind of do the companion tiers, but it wouldn't be fair to make definitive statements before I actually start the run.

I should be ready to start the run by the end of next Friday, and it shouldn't take me more than two weeks to get through it.  I say two weeks because I'm going to get pissed off and not want to play for a while after a number of unfair deaths. But for now, look forward to future posts, check out my referral code of you're a SWTOR player, and stay beautiful freaks!

Assassin's Den Reviews Funimation's Dragon Ball Super: Battle of Gods arc

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den!

Now, I know I said I'd wait until the Beerus arc ended before reviewing the arc, but I can't wait any longer to say what I need to say: this is BORING! Why is one of the most exciting franchises in anime history SO BORING in the first arc of the newest series?

At this point in the series, Goku is fighting Beerus in his Super Saiyan God form.  Back and forth, Beerus lets Goku get used to power before wailing on him, only for Goku to come back with another power boost.  But it's so badly paced; this much back and forth is FAR from necessary.  Between when Goku becomes a Super Saiyan God and when the arc finally ends next week, it's 5 whole episodes.  That's two and a half hours.  The entire runtime of the Battle of Gods movie? One hour and forty-five minutes.  The fight between Goku and Beerus in the show is 45 minutes longer than the movie in which Beerus was introduced. 

And Beerus? He's a dick.  All I've seen in this arc is "Give me what I want, or I blow up your planet!"  If I hadn't seen him in Xenoverse first, I'd hate him.  He is completely unlikable in this arc.

Now I know, maybe I'm spoiled by being able to buy a saga on DVD and watch it entirely the way through without stopping and having to wait for a week, but between the poorer quality animation in this first arc and my general distaste of cliffhangers, this is not boding well for my enjoyment of the series.

The only positive things I can say about this arc are about the English voice acting, and the early hints on what will be on full display later in the show with Goku.  Sean Schemmel, Chris Sabat, Kyle Herbert, Meredith McCoy, Colleen Clinkerbeard...they've been doing these characters for over a decade, and they know the characters very well.  They're experienced, they're dynamic, and they always a joy to listen to.

And as for my second point about Goku's characterization, you can see a LOT of early hints when it comes to future arcs.  His selfishness is on full display, and you can tell right from the start that he cares more about his fight with Beerus than he does about the fate of the Earth.  Oh yeah, the fate of the Earth is in his thoughts, but it's more "They make good food there!" and less "There's billions of lives down there!" Very inline with Toriyama's view of Goku's character.

All in all, I agree with a LOT of people when I say they should have just skipped this arc, as well as the Resurrection F arc, and just done new stuff. Granted, it would have left the few people, like myself, who didn't see the movies in the cold, but they could have easily done a whole "the story that came before" thing like they do before every episode. 

At this point, I'm going to just go with a review episode by episode.  And once I get to Episode 27, I'm going to link to the videos of MasakoX, the voices of Goku and Gohan in Team Four Star's Dragon Ball Z Abridged.  That will also give us an idea how far ahead the Japanese version of Super is from the English dub.

But for now, look forward to my review of Episode 14 of Dragon Ball Super next week, check out my referral code if you're a SWTOR player, and stay beautiful freaks!

Mass Effect: The Insanity Run

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den!

With Mass Effect Andromeda about to release on March 21, 2017 and me without the hardware to play it nor the money to get said hardware, I decided to do something special for this occasion; beat the Shepard Trilogy on Insanity.  Now, this isn't for the sake of bragging; everyone who cares about beating Insanity has done so already. Nor do I want to challenge myself; I've beaten ME1 on Insanity once before, before my first 360 crashed and burned.  No, this is me being able to say "I got all the achievements on the Shepard Trilogy", something I've been working on for a LONG time, but avoided Insanity at all costs.  But now, I'm finally at a point in my life when I can beat the games on this difficulty.

However, I'm going to make this as easy on myself as possible.  Which is why I'm importing a character into each game and then setting the difficulty to Insanity; that way, I've got a good loadout for my team and a certain build for my character. 

So, the following order is how I'll be posting the setup and completion entries on here.  I'll explain when an entry isn't so clear.

1. Name
2. Background-This is going to be more than just "Spacer-War Hero" thing the game gives you.  No, this is the what happened before the opening of the game.  For 2 and 3, it will explain Shepard's alignment and choices that were made in the previous game. But for one? Well, that'll be something special.
3. Class
4. Extra power
5. Build-This goes into how I combine the class and the extra power, and how I plan to survive Insanity with this character.
6. Created on date
7. Setup-What level and gear I start the run with.  This will be more clear when I do the first entry.
8. Companion tier-How good each companion is based on the difficulty and my build.  And I want to make things clear; just because I don't like a companion's characterization doesn't mean they're automatically low tier.  For example, Baldur's Gate 2 has an incredibly annoying character in Aerie, but she's incredibly useful due to her being able to use both arcane and clerical magic. So I use her when I'm doing a run where I'm not using Viconia, who is a pure cleric.
9. Level of frustration-How angry I got with the BS the game throws at me.  Like I said, I'm not going for the challenge, so I'm going to get mad at the cheap stuff the game throws at me.
10. Content completed-Basically, what DLC missions I'm doing for the run, or why I'm doing certain content in a certain order.  Some DLC has good items, but some don't have an Insanity achievement tied to them, and don't need to be completed ON Insanity.
11. Achievements I'm going for
12. Finish date
13. Final thoughts-This is where I wrap up my feelings on the run.

Unfortunately, my Xbox 360 power supply died, AGAIN, so I'm ordering a brand new on online.  Won't be an official Microsoft one, since they don't make them anymore, but considering that I've had better luck with third party stuff for the 360, this one should last me.  However, I won't get it until March, and I still need to finish my setup run for ME1. I probably won't finish before Andromeda's release like I intended to.

But for now, look forward to the posts on the run, and stay beautiful freaks!

(Oh, and I'm using my sign off as the block for my referral code now. :) )

Assassin's Den Reviews Announcement: Dragon Ball Super Funimation dub review schedule

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den!  As of two weeks ago yesterday (my time, of course), Cartoon Network began airing Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball Super, one episode a week.  So, I've decided that, at the end of an arc, I'm going to talk about the show based on that arc's story and the English cast's voice acting. 

Now, I need to mention one major thing, I have not seen Battle of Gods or Resurrection F, so unlike for most people who watched Super in the original Japanese, these two arcs are new territory for me.  I am going in completely blind. In fact, outside of what I've seen talked about by the people at Team Four Star, including but not limited to MasakoX, I'm going in blind with the series.  Yes, I'll keep up with the synopsis of what will come for me so I don't rehash things and muse on things that have already happened for a lot of fans, but the episodes themselves are brand new territory for me.

With that said, I'll be posting a review of the Battle of Gods arc when it is over, which should be in about a month.  But for now, stay beautiful freaks!

Check out my referral code for benefits to your SWTOR account!

Assassin's Den Reviews: Knights of the Eternal Throne

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den! Today, I'm going to talk about the latest expansion dropped for SWTOR, KOTET!

First off, the story.  KoTET starts off not long after KOTFE Ch16 ends; Vaylin has now taken the Zakuulan Throne, and Vitiate is now implementing his plan to take control of your body.  You have to fight off the efforts of both of them to bring about the peace the galaxy finally needs.  I actually enjoy the nine chapters of the KOTET story, and I was glad to see the majority of plot threads tied up, and the ones that weren't so good, like the Sion plotline, were abandoned.  In fact, the only thing you hear from the Sions is in an email after the story is over.

However, there are things I didn't like. For example, two big characters that I wanted to see return more than anyone did not. In fact, KoTET didn't have anyone return.  The only characters that came in for the expansion were Shae Vizla and Master Ranos, whom you only got if you got to a certain tier in the DvL event.  Something I didn't accomplish, so all I got was Shae Vizla.

I'm also not a fan of Galactic Command, since the focus after the story is over is multiplayer content.  However, this WAS a big contention point for PVP players and flashpoint/operation players, so they finally got the content they've been craving for a year.  Galactic Command gives some great rewards for people who like that stuff, so I'm glad to see them happy, even though that content is not my cup of tea.

However, we can't have an expansion without an engine change, and we got one with 5.0.  5.0's changes are all about mobility and making classes more distinct.  First off, we no longer start as one of 8 base classes; we start as what used to be specializations.  So you don't start out as, say, a Jedi Knight anymore, you start out as a Sentinel or a Guardian.  You still go through the Knight story, but your playstyle is different from the start.  Each class starts with their preferred weapon style (for example, a Sentinel starts with two training blades, while a Shadow starts with an electrostaff), and each has distinct abilities that are exclusively reserved for that class.  Also, some classes gained new abilities to compliment their playstyle; for example, a Gunslinger no longer uses Dirty Kick as a stun, because they are pure ranged fighters. Instead, they get a shot that does the same thing. Scoundrels also regain an AOE that either drops at their feet if they're not a healer, or can be sent a short range away if they are a healer.  (these changes, of course, go across the faction line; IA classes have the same changes but with different animations and names based on their faction).

On top of that, crystals were removed from the game; no more data crystals, no more radiant crystals, no more warzone commendations.  Credits are now far more valuable than they were before.  However, you still get a special currency for bounty broker missions and Galactic Command, but someone who actually does that content would be better suited to tell about that.

All in all, SWTOR KoTET and the 5.0 changes were beneficial.  Class changes make things more distinct, and the Zakuul storyline was wrapped up nicely.  The only downside, for me at least, is the fear that I'm going to be sitting for months waiting through content that I don't care for before I get more story.  But only time will tell.

But for now, check out my referral code, and stay beautiful freaks!

DBXV Character Profiles Round 9

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks!  With Xenoverse 2 out now, on a system I still can't afford to get, I'm watching videos of it on youtube, and thus, have gotten the itch to play the first one again.  So, here's another character that I may recreate entirely in Xenoverse 2 when I finally get it.  Hopefully, the profits from the book I'm working on will let me settle a few things and finally get a PS4.  But for now, meet my new Time Patroller.

Name:Kazaa

Age: 12 (Physically and emotionally, but not in terms of experience)

Gender: Female

Species: Majin

Home Planet: Earth

Profile:  Kazaa is curious about EVERYTHING.  Just barely into her species equivalent of adolescence, the world is bright and new to her.  She wants to learn and experience everything the world has to offer, and idolizes Alaka like no other.  In fact, she's figured out how to copy other people's move, just like her idol!  And while she doesn't want to copy her idol's fighting style exactly, she is doing as Alaka did in her efforts to stop Demigra; try out all kinds of moves and see what fits her best.

Personality: It's as if she's seeing the world for the first time, and that's not far from the truth.  She's the youngest time patroller in Conton City (the Xenoverse 2 hub world), and wants to show the older fighters that she's just as good as they are, all while absorbing all she can about world, both the scientific and mystical aspects of it. 

 

Job: Time Patroller.

Name Pun: Magic words.  And since she's supposed to tie into Alaka, her name ties into the magic word "Alakazam".

 

I went with Videl's clothes as a whole "young girl fighting outfit" thing, instead of the "Majin pride" thing that we see on Alaka.  Hopefully, when my book comes out and I've paid off a couple of things, I'll be able to get a PS4 and Xenoverse 2, and create Kazaa in effect there.  

 

And yes, I am writing a book. A work of original fiction, which is a LOT harder than I thought it would be.  I'll keep this blog in the loop in the process, but like any story I've ever written before, the start is the hardest.  

 

But for now, stay beautiful freaks!

DBXV Character Profiles Round 8

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den!  

 

So, I'd been playing around with the character creator yesterday, and I realized that I'd built another human that looked exactly like Rayne, but with a change in her clothing.  So I was like "Wait, a second, this gives me an idea."  So I went ahead and deleted her, rebuilt her, and named her Rayne again.  But now, I'm giving her an updated profile, to reflect the changes she's gone through during the storyline of Dragon Ball Xenoverse. So here's Rayne's updated look and profile!

 

Name: Rayne

Age: 22

Gender: Female

Species: Human

Age they came from: 818

Home Planet: Earth

 

History: Trained in the style of the Turtle School by her grandfather Krillin from a young age, Rayne knew that she was outclassed by the alien fighters she grew up around.  And she refuses to undergo the extensive cybernetics that her grandmother went through in order to get a power boost.  To make up for these power based shortcomings, she researched different ways to manipulate ki; to poison, burn or freeze superior foes to give her a more even playing field.  And when Shenron, the Eternal Dragon of the Dragon Balls, told her that someone from a faraway land had called her, and to come forth, she happily accepted the offer, eager to see if her techniques could be integrated into Turtle School teachings for humans.

Personality: Rayne's confidence went through the roof after defeating Demigra by herself. (There's two possible endings for the main story of the game; one where, if you let your health get too low, Goku teleports in and helps you beat Demigra, with the final cutscene being you and Goku doing a Kamehameha together.  The other one, which is the only one I've gotten myself, is where you don't let your health get to that point, where you beat Demigra on your own, and you do that final Kamehameha by yourself, and get energy from the main cast.  It's a very moving scene, and I encourage you to look it up on youtube.) She still outwardly appears to take nothing seriously, always having a joke or a quip or a bit of sarcasm to offer at any moment to brighten the mood or demoralize an opponent.  But she's no longer afraid.  Rayne knows what she can do, knows that she's strong enough to defend history with her own strength without resorting to trickery.  She now relies on technique and skill, confident in her ability now.

Special: She no longer uses the Kaioken, but she's still equipped with the Spirit Bomb move. I've now modified her supers to be more unique to her, using moves that I don't normally use on my characters.

Name Pun: Rain. As in “water that falls form the sky.”  While she does not conform to the familial “named after chestnuts” thing, I figure her father has a weather type name, and the name came from there.

 

 

 

This outfit's called the Time Patrol Suit, which you get after beating the game the first time.  It's actually the clothes used for the promotional Time Patroller, the male Saiyan who looks like Gohan with red hair. You can also change the color of it, and this is the color scheme I like for it. I changed Rayne's hairstyle, because her original one clipped through the collar, and I thought the sunglasses fit her new look.  She's really come into her own after beating Demigra, and doing like all true masters of the Turtle School and truly making her fighting style her own.

Look forward to more DBXV/SWTOR stuff in the future, and stay beautiful freaks!

Check out my SWTOR referral code for benefits to your account!