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back to Baldur's Gate (Enhanced Edition, PC, 1998/2012) tonight over at https://twitch.tv/andreaen. Still in chapter 3, still sidequesting.

I've seen Johnnie To's "The Mission" (1999) a couple times in the last few days & felt like writing. Been wanting to see it for a while, finally found a (crusty, 360p) copy uploaded to Youtube. Loved it.

Five criminals become friends after being hired to protect a triad boss. This may be a stretch but I think this is somewhat inspired by westerns - if you think of the five as gunslingers or hired guns rather than low-level crooks a lot about the movie locks into place. Reminds me of Michael Mann's films too, criminals with histories (not fully explained) and codes of ethics.

A couple of fantastic shootouts (the mall scene is pretty famous). A lot of fun to watch the five actors playing the bodyguards, they're great together. Also: feels like a really good blueprint for a Cyberpunk 2020 / Shadowrun session.

Awesome movie.

more Baldur's Gate (Enhanced Edition, PC, 1998/2012) today over at https://twitch.tv/andreaen. I'm in chapter 3 with half my characters at level 1 so I guess that means it's sidequesting time.

picking up Baldur's Gate (Enhanced Edition, PC, 1998/2012) again today over at https://twitch.tv/andreaen. This session: in Nashkel, exploring the surroundings.

I'm starting a game of Baldur's Gate (Enhanced Edition, PC, 1998/2012) today over at https://twitch.tv/andreaen. My first time through the game; been looking forward to it.

I'm doing another Shadowrun SNES randomizer seed today over at https://twitch.tv/andreaen.

(What will Jake's favorite drink be this time?)

Rewatched Overlord tonight, my second watch. (I should be more specific: Overlord directed by Stuart Cooper from 1975). It came up in conversation the other day so I dug up my copy-of-a-copy.

Overlord is a war drama about a young everyman's basic training leading into D-Day. It features a large amount of (uncensored?) archival war footage with new narrative sequences carefully filmed to look like the period material. It's slow, dreamlike, heavy, sometimes harrowing.

I've seen it described as an anti-war film and I think I agree with that (insofar as it's about the cost of war, the toll it takes on a human being).

The less you know going in the better - many descriptions of the film contain major spoilers. It's worth a watch. I'm not sure I'd say I enjoy it, more like I appreciate it.

I believe it's on youtube right now for anyone interested.

I'm starting a Voices of the Void (version 0.8.2c) savefile tonight over at https://twitch.tv/andreaen.

VotV is a first-person simulation / horror game where you use & maintain a satellite array to search the skies for radio signals.

I can tell it's spring because I'm starting to feel the urge to clean.

Need to let go of a bunch of old computer parts, an ATA-style 19" rack, some other odds and ends. And, y'know, dust and sweep and things.

finished Transistor in one long session. Fantastic game. Couldn't stop playing until I saw the end.

I'm starting a playthrough of Transistor (PC, 2014) today over at https://twitch.tv/andreaen. My first time through the game, been looking forward to it.

I'm continuing Quake Brutalist Jam 3 today over at https://twitch.tv/andreaen. This session: doing a bunch of the 'resurfaced' maps.

I'm picking up Outward (PC, 2019) again today over at https://twitch.tv/andreaen. This session: hopefully finishing the Three Brothers DLC.

I'm continuing Outward (PC, 2019) today over at https://twitch.tv/andreaen. I'm in the "Stealing Fire" quest in the Three Brothers DLC, just about to head to Old Sirocco.

I finished Dex (PC, 2015) a few days ago & want to post some comments before I forget.

Really great game. Enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. It's a cyberpunk side-scrolling platformer / RPG, sort of "Metroidvania" adjacent (but with more simple and I'd say easier gameplay). Took a little while to get a hang of the combat but once I did it was a good time. Kinda-iffy hacking subgame (as is tradition for cyberpunk video games).

Its inspirations are pretty clear - Deus Ex, '80s and '90s cyberpunk novels (particularly those by Gibson and Cadigan IMO). I've read a lot of those books and had a blast pointing at the screen and saying "this makes me think of" while playing. It's more in line with the more optimistic novels of the '90s I think. Reminded me a bit of Shadowrun for the SNES too.

Cleverly laid out sidequests that wove into and revealed one another, many of which you could partially solve before starting by exploring the map and picking up quest items early. A lot of those quests / missions had multiple outcomes. Also: voice acted dialog, strong enough to really carry a few sections of the story. Beautiful artwork as well, drawn backgrounds and sprites.

Overall a positive if a little uneven experience. I want to play it again now that I know where to start the different quests so I can try to do them in a different order.

Shoutout to bstuf for turning me on to this Metatone Recordings reissue release on AVA. Records.

Album can be found on bandcamp here:

Morning sounds

Woke up with this stuck in my head, spent half an hour digging to find it.

I'm playing some more Outward (PC, 2019) today over at https://twitch.tv/andreaen. This session: I turn on debug mode so I can advance the city-building minigame in the second DLC.

I'm picking up Quake Brutalist Jam 3 again over at https://twitch.tv/andreaen. I think I'm over halfway through the map pack now? Hard to say.

returning to Dex (PC, 2015) today over at https://twitch.tv/andreaen. This session: I remember that there's a main quest.

Watching the #quakelive 250fps season 4 finals this morning (almost missed them, thought it was tomorrow). Been looking forward to this for months & it hasn't disappointed so far.

Coverage & commentary is here:

I'm playing some Outward (PC, 2019) this morning over at https://twitch.tv/andreaen. This session: traveling to Caldera, the final DLC area.

I'm continuing Dex (PC, 2015) this morning over at https://twitch.tv/andreaen. This game has a surprising number of sidequests!

another old favorite for #303day

happy 303 day everybody

picking up Outward (PC, 2019) again this late night over at https://twitch.tv/andreaen. This session: more sidequesting.

I'm quietly starting a playthrough of Dex (PC, 2015) tonight over at https://twitch.tv/andreaen. Dex is a 2D side-scrolling cyberpunk action/RPG game that I've been meaning to play for a while.