Sons of the Forest 5/29/2023

Sons of the Forest is a survival video game developed by Endnight Games and published by Newnight.  It is the sequel to the 2018 video game The Forest, (do not confuse with Sons of the Forest) and was released via early access on February 23, 2023, for Microsoft Windows on Steam.

Gameplay

Similarly to The Forest, Sons of the Forest puts players in control of a protagonist stranded on an island inhabited by cannibals.  Players can build weapons and buildings to aid in their survival.  New to the game are friendly NPCs.  One is a companion named Kelvin, who is deaf and unable to speak.  Players can give Kelvin written commands on a piece of paper to help with simple tasks such as collecting crafting resources or setting up fires.  Players will also encounter Virginia, a three-legged, three-armed woman who can be equipped with weapons to aid in combat situations.  The map in this game is four times bigger than that of its predecessor.  The game supports up to eight-player cooperative multiplayer, though players can also opt to play the game solo.  Depending on their actions, players can receive different endings.

Synopsis

Many years after the events at Site 1, a team of private military contractors hired by PuffCorp is dispatched to an island called "Site 2" to search for Edward Puffton (PuffCorp's founder and CEO), his wife Barbara, and his 20 years old daughter Virginia, who have gone missing for months now.  The team's helicopters are shot down by unknown assailants.  One of the contractors survives their helicopter crash but is knocked out by a man wearing a silver coat.  The Contractor then awakes with another surviving teammate named Kelvin who was rendered deaf in the crash.

Working together, the Contractor and Kelvin set up camp and obtain resources to survive the wilderness as well as attacks from mutant cannibals.  As the Contractor begins to explore the island, they find various underground bunkers and facilities built by PuffCorp and learns more about the true nature of Site 2 and PuffCorp's intentions for it.  Like Site 1, Site 2 possesses ancient artifacts of unknown power, as well as a previously undiscovered golden ore.  PuffCorp acquired the island under the guise of turning it into a resort, and are in secret competition with the owners of Site 1, Sahara Therapeutics, over control of an artifact known as the "Cube".  The Contractor also finds surveillance footage showing Edward and PuffCorp executives suddenly mutating into cannibals during a dinner party, meaning the cannibals were Site 2's previous inhabitants.

The Contractor also encounters Virginia, who became a mutant though somehow managed to retain her mind and sanity.  Searching another bunker, the Contractor also comes across Tim and Eric LeBlanc, the son and father from The Forest, who were also hired by PuffCorp to search for the Pufftons.  However, the Contractor is separated from them when the man with the silver coat accosts the LeBlancs and the Contractor is knocked unconscious by a mutant.  The Contractor then continues to explore the PuffCorp facilities, eventually discovering research notes on the Cube referencing its potential to travel between alternate dimensions.  The Contractor also learns that the Cube will "activate" every 8 lunar cycles, and the only safe haven is inside the Cube itself.  The Mercenary deduces that the Cube's activation was what caused the mass mutations on the island, and the next activation is due soon.

Along the way to the Cube, they encounter a different type of highly aggressive mutant that shows an aversion to crucifixes.  The Contractor eventually reaches the Cube along with Tim and they both make it inside the Cube before it closes, locking the man with the silver coat outside.  When the Cube activates, Tim has a seizure and briefly splits into multiple versions of himself before the Cube shows them a vision of a futuristic, alien city.  The Cube then deactivates and reopens, showing the man with the silver coat has mutated.  The Contractor and Tim then return to the surface where Eric is waiting in a helicopter, and 2 endings are possible:

• If the player decides to go retrieve their survival pack or simply waits, the Contractor decides to stay behind on the island, and the LeBlancs leave without them.
• If the player decides to board the helicopter, the Contractor leaves the island with the LeBlancs.  If Kelvin and Virginia survived and accompanied the Contractor to the Cube, they will leave on the helicopter as well.

- Wikipedia (that is the final goal of the game is to escape the island)

When first released the game had many bugs, but updates since then have fixed most, and more updates are coming.

For Steam users you can post bugs and suggestions on Steam's "Sons Of The Forest" Discussions which is suggested by the publisher.

Highly recommend:  Sons of the Forest IGN Game Guide and especially the Interactive Map.

REF: Dell G5 5000 desktop, Intel Core i5 @ 2.90GHz, Memory 64GB, AMD Radeon RX 5300 VRAM 3056MB

 

 

 

The Last of Us 5/29/2023

The Last of Us is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment.  Players control Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie, across a post-apocalyptic United States.  The Last of Us is played from a third-person perspective.  Players use firearms and improvised weapons and can use stealth to defend against hostile humans and cannibalistic creatures infected by a mutated fungus.  In the online multiplayer mode, up to eight players engage in cooperative and competitive gameplay.

Development of The Last of Us began in 2009, soon after the release of Naughty Dog's previous game, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.  For the first time in the company's history, Naughty Dog split into two teams; while one team developed Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, the other half developed The Last of Us.  The relationship between Joel and Ellie became the focus, with all other elements developed around it.  Actors Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson portrayed Joel and Ellie, respectively, through voice and motion capture, and assisted creative director Neil Druckmann with the development of the characters and story.  The original score was composed and performed by Gustavo Santaolalla.

Following its announcement in December 2011, The Last of Us was widely anticipated.  It was released for the PlayStation 3 in June 2013.  It received critical acclaim, with praise for its narrative, gameplay, visuals, sound design, score, characterization, and depiction of female characters.  The Last of Us became one of the best-selling video games, selling over 1.3 million units in its first week and 17 million by April 2018.  The game won year-end accolades, including multiple Game of the Year awards, from several gaming publications, critics, and game award ceremonies.  It has been ranked as one of the greatest video games ever made.

Naughty Dog released several downloadable content additions; The Last of Us: Left Behind adds a single-player campaign following Ellie and her best friend, Riley.  A remastered version, The Last of Us Remastered, was released for the PlayStation 4 in July 2014.  A remake, The Last of Us Part I, was released in September 2022 for PlayStation 5 and in March 2023 for Windows.  A sequel, The Last of Us Part II, was due release in 2020.  Other Last of Us media includes a comic book in 2013, a live show in 2014, a television adaptation by HBO in 2023, a tabletop game by Themeborne in 2023, an untitled multiplayer game and an upcoming tabletop game by CMON.  - Wikipedia

There are two very good things about this game:

• It is cheep, I mean low cost $30- Early Access Steam
• Naughty Dog publishes frequent updates
• You can (and should) setup your graphics to "Full Screen Windowed Mode" this allows you to use normal [Ctrl][Alt] for screen capture

And it is fun to play.

Highly suggest GamePressure's "The Last of Us" Game Guide.

REF:  Dell G5 5000 desktop, Intel Core i5 @ 2.90GHz, Memory 64GB, AMD Radeon RX 5300 VRAM 3056MB

 

 

 

The Callisto Protocol 5/29/2023

The Callisto Protocol is a 2022 survival horror video game developed by Striking Distance Studios and published by Krafton.  It is directed by Dead Space series co-creator Glen Schofield, and is considered a spiritual successor to the series.  The game's story follows Jacob Lee (Josh Duhamel) who is sent to a prison facility set on the Jovian moon Callisto fighting against infected prisoners with an unknown disease while uncovering dark secrets of the facility.  Gameplay has players exploring a series of levels, garnering resources while fighting off infected prisoners.

Development of the game began with the formation of Striking Distance Studios in June 2019.  Originally developed as a game set in the PUBG:  Battlegrounds universe, it later evolved into an original intellectual property.

The game was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on December 2, 2022.  It received mixed reviews, and failed to meet the sales expectations of Krafton.

Gameplay

In The Callisto Protocol, players assume the role of Jacob Lee from a third-person perspective.  Jacob's health is indicated by an implant on the back of his neck called a "C.O.R.E. Device".  Health can be replenished with injectable packs found throughout levels.  Jacob can use weapons to combat enemies, as well as a melee system to dodge enemy attacks while looking for openings to strike and kill them.  Both combat styles can be mixed up, providing greater variety when facing enemy types.  Jacob can collect and review audio logs during gameplay.

Plot

In 2320, Jacob Lee (Josh Duhamel) and Max Barrow (Jeff Schine) are contract freight transporters working for the United Jupiter Company (UJC).  The two decide to retire after ferrying one last shipment between Europa and the UJC-operated Black Iron Prison on Callisto.  Shortly after leaving Black Iron in their ship, the Charon, they are boarded by the Outer Way, a terrorist group purportedly responsible for a massive biological attack on Europa, and the ship crash-lands back on Callisto.  Max is killed, leaving Jacob and Outer Way leader Dani Nakamura (Karen Fukuhara) as the only survivors.  Both are recovered by Black Iron Prison security head Captain Leon Ferris (Sam Witwer) and incarcerated on the orders of Warden Duncan Cole (James C.  Mathis III).  After an intake process, Jacob awakens to find the prison overrun by hostile "biophages"; inmates afflicted with an unknown disease.  He encounters Elias Porter (Zeke Alton), a prisoner who claims to have an escape plan.  After freeing Elias, Jacob fights and leaves Ferris to die at the hands of biophages.  - Wikipedia

When first released it was very buggy, but the first update fixed over 40bugs.

WARNING:  BUT there IS another problem with the PC game, it has SCRIPTED BOSS fights and the first was impossible (for me) to win.  So I have removed this game from my desktop rig.

It was very enjoyable to play 'till the Boss Fight.

REF:  Dell G5 5000 desktop, Intel Core i5 @ 2.90GHz, Memory 64GB, AMD Radeon RX 5300 VRAM 3056MB

 

 

Black Mesa Definitive Edition

An absolutely outstanding update to a classic game.

"Black Mesa is a 2020 first-person shooter game developed and published by Crowbar Collective.  It is a third-party remake of Half-Life (1998) made in the Source game engine.  Originally published as a free mod in September 2012, Black Mesa was approved by Half-Life developers Valve for a commercial release; the first commercial version was published as an early-access version in May 2015, followed by a full release in March 2020 for Microsoft Windows and Linux.

Black Mesa was developed in response to Half-Life: Source (2005), Valve's port of Half-Life to the Source engine, which lacked new features or improvements.  Two teams wanted to improve on the Source remake and eventually merged to become Crowbar Collective.  While they had originally targeted a release by 2009, the team realized they had rushed to this point and reevaluated their efforts to improve the quality of the remake.

Since then, attention to details, adapting the game to an improved version of the Source engine, and completely reworking the oft-derided final chapters of Half-Life (known as Xen) had lengthened the development efforts of the remake.  Due to its long development time, the modification became notable for its delays on the status of its completion.  Major changes include re-skinned collection of textures, models and NPCs, a longer runtime, improved level and puzzle design along with challenging enemy artificial intelligence, and additional dialogue and story elements." - Wikipedia

The game consists of chapters/episodes:  Office Complex, We Have Got Hostiles, Blast Pit, Power Up, On a Rail, Apprehension, Residue Processing, Questionable Ethics, Surface Tension, Forget About Freeman, Lambda Core, Xen, Gonarch's Lair, Interloper, Nihilant, Endgame (high-lighted are the additions to the original Half-Life game)

Game play consists of solving 'puzzles' aka finding objects you need, performing jumps, finding paths to locations, all the while while fending off enemies.  Really, really fun to play.

There are good guides and walkthroughs including "Black Mesa Definitive Edition FULL GAME Gameplay Walkthrough No Commentary (PC)" video.