Author: TheAleosha

Callisto Protocol

There’s no experience, but there are credits, used to upgrade the weapons and the telekinetic glove. Inventory is very limited, so most of the excesses should be sold, since there isn’t much backtracking.
Something I thought we got over with around 2010: transitions. Every few minutes you need to squeeze through some tight space, or crawl through an air duct, or slowly open a door with your bare hands.
Enemies start to mutate, and if you don’t kill them in time, become stronger. Resident Evil 4 used a somewhat similar system.
Once you get your suit and go out: that snow is really impressive. Not just a texture, but with a depth to it.

First part of the game we mostly guided on radio by another convict, Elias, who finds different reasons why he can’t come with us. So I fully expected him to betray us. But no, he just dies once we get out.

Tags Callisto Protocol

*.AVI

Godfather (1972)

I watched this movie some 20 years ago, so I didn’t remember many of the details.
I do detest Al Pacino, though. Alongside De Niro, I think those are the two worst actors of the past 50 years. In every movie Al Pacino always wears that expression like he forgot what day of the week it is, and it all started with Godfather.
Another thing is how awkward time jumps are: Michael says to Kay he’s been back for a year, then we are shown that they already have a child which is 3 years old, then he’s the godfather of his sister’s child, but she was pregnant like 4 years ago, but either she had miscarriage after her beating or her child is never shown.
And the whole episode is Italy doesn’t even add much: Michael never mentions Apolonia once after she gets blown in a car.
Also, it left me wondering what The Family even does officially? Like, what was Vito writing in his tax declaration? They had to have some official business,

PC Gaming

Callisto Protocol

It’s Dead Space. I haven’t played the 2023 remake, but still. The colors, the camera, the movement, audiologs, body stomps, it’s all there. Nice introduction overall, explains neatly why protagonist has traffic light in the back of his head.
Impressive how sweaty characters are. And also some familiar faces among the actors.
Gameplay wise, it feels much more melee oriented. Luckily, without any Souls like influence. Blocking with “back” button is something common in fighting games, but I don’t ever remember seeing in third person action. Once you get a pistol, you also can perform a combo where you auto aim at a stunned enemy. Handy.
Of course there are upgrades for your weapons. Nice that the upgrades actually change the look of the weapon, and in a way that makes sense: stability upgrade adds a foregrip, for example.
You also get a powerglove to drag objects or even enemies like a Jedi. I remember this was popular in early 2000s games, but everything makes a comeback eventually.

Something very strange happened with this game. I had it bought on Epic Store (I actually received it for free), but when I went to my library to install it, it wasn’t there. So I thought maybe I didn’t remember correctly. I went to the Store page, but there it was saying “In Library”. I checked Library again, it wasn’t there. I contacted support, but by the time they responded, it reappeared again.

Tags Callisto Protocol

Nintendo Switch

Octopath Traveler

I haven’t played SNES era RPGs for a long time. But I do remember Seiken Densetsu 3 did that thing where you could start the story with any character, they would have their own prologue, and then you would slowly gather other party members, which was mind-blowing at the time. And the visuals are clearly Final Fantasy 6, with chibi protagonist, but normal enemies and bigger than life bosses:

(Like here, they all supposed to be normal humans of the same size)

The problem, and why I dropped the game once already, is starting any JRPG is extremely boring, with how little stuff you can do besides hitting your enemy in the face. It becomes even more so when you have just a single character.
The main battle mechanic is exploiting weaknesses, just like in Persona series. But in order to stun the enemy you need to exploit a weakness multiple times.

Tags Octopath Traveler

*.BAK

CaDA Master C61505W Viva Hypercar (Ferrari La Ferrari)

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date January 26, 2026
No Comments on CaDA Master C61505W Viva Hypercar (Ferrari La Ferrari)

When I was ordering from AliExpress, the only option available was without a box, so I’ve got mine wrapped in a bag.
Lego model was divided into 23 bags, although some contained smaller bags inside. CaDA divides its bags into 7 groups, each group is about 8 bags. And some extras, like wheels and tires. Wheels are slightly smaller than of McLaren P1, not sure what’s the reason for that, as both should be 1:8 models.
Lego is often criticized for using blue pieces. Those provide more friction, but they do stick like a sore thumb if left exponsed, like on the McLaren P1 front panel. No blue pieces in those bags. We’ll have to see if CaDA uses same color for pieces of different friction, or they just use frictionless black pieces for everything.

Tags Lego

*.BAK

Lakes Distillery The One Colheita finish whiskey

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date January 25, 2026
No Comments on Lakes Distillery The One Colheita finish whiskey

7th bottle from the Advent Calendar.

I hate when whiskey producers come up with those witty names. How am I supposed to search for whisky called “the one”?
In any case, whiskey is not just about taste, but also about price. This is a blended whiskey, but at least it’s 46% ABV, and it costs just 35GBP, which is quite impressive for what it delivers.

Tags whiskey

PC Gaming

RoboCop Rogue City

Completed RoboCop Rogue City .
You have to deal with the walking tanks twice more, but they are more of a joke at long distances. Still bullet sponges, though.
After a disastrous first boss, I’m surprised how well the final boss came out. It has phases, clear weak spots and attack telegraphs, just overall very enjoyable.
The story is bolder than I expected. I thought they’d pull a W40K, leaving everything were it was, but they actually got rid of some of the key characters.
It’s a blend of Robocop 1 and Robocop 2 stories, leading straight into Japanese arc of Robocop 3, but then, this is what’s expected. OCP corporation controlling Detroit police force, and sabotaging it at the same time, in hopes to make the city uninhabitable and rebuild it from scratch. OCP CEO, literally called Old Man, is afraid of death, so he tries to use psychologist send to Robocop to properly digitalize himself for the afterlife (Robocop is the only success ever, after all). The interesting twist is that the main antagonist, who introduced himself as the brother of villain from Robocop 1, is actually a fraud, and his real name never revealed, because who cares?!

Tags Robocop

*.BAK

Mousin Weasel Sprint

I decided to take a break from painting Warhammer to painting an alternative model, picking Mousin Weasel Sprint printed by someone from Etsy. Those can be printed in multiple sizes, I went with 100mm.

The problem with 100mm started pretty quickly, as there’s a single spoke that attaches the weasel to the base, and it’s quite heavy, so after gluing, that spoke just broke off and stayed stuck in the base. I’ll need to figure out how to attach it to the base safely later.

The same happened with the mouse tail. But after a couple of attempts, I managed to glue it back together.

Priming it was surprisingly easy. Maybe because it is a larger model, or diffirent plastic that the one Games Workshop uses, but one coat of Abaddon Black was enough. Shading a larger model is tiresome, though. Or maybe I needed a larger dry brush.

PC Gaming

RoboCop Rogue City

One mechanic I don’t remember seeing much in other games is competing with allies. Robocop would compete with the walking tank ED-209, or a SWAT team, and if you kill more criminals than they do, you get extra XP.

The fight with ED-209 was surprisingly annoying. Because otherwise, the game is quite the pleasure. Robocop moves slowly, and the robot is accurate, so you end up dying to chip damage. And despite the hint that it has a weak spot at the front, it still feels like a bullet sponge.

While there are plenty of weapons to pick from enemies, including some of the all-time favorites like Barrett sniper rifle, G11 assault rifle and SPAS-12 shotgun, most of the time you’ll be using Robocop’s siderarm. Because it has infinite ammo (I’m not sure if it’s a nod to 90’s action movies mentality or just convenience) and with it burst fire mode is good enough for most situations. You can also customize it, by finding alternative PCBs and playing a simple puzzle game: turning it full auto or single-action Magnum style, or adding a belt feeding mechanism so you don’t ever need to reload it again.

Tags Robocop

*.BAK

Lego McLaren P1 42172

Over New Year I finished my Lego McLaren P1. As I predicted, two wrong pieces in bag 11 came to haunt me in bag 23, the last bag, as the engine lid wouldn’t close properly.

Luckily, Lego has a piece delivery system, which doesn’t even require receipts. You just specify which set you are doing and what pieces you are missing.
I’m glad that I submitted the request on the 1st of January, because I received the items only a couple days ago.
But now it’s finally complete. Took 23 sittings, per number of bags, and around 15 hours in total. I didn’t try to rush it, though, had no reason to.
Next, I’ll give CaDA a try.

Tags Lego

PC Gaming

Robocop Rogue City

As I said about Resident Evil 2 Remake, 20 years ago I wouldn’t believe something like that would be possible. Actually, I wouldn’t believe something like that would be possible even now, as they clearly got so many things right: Lewis, Robocop’s partner, and Murphy’s own hallucinations.

It plays like Bioshock 2. You’re this hulking monster, sturdy, but slow. And with a nice enemy highlight. You can pick enemy weapons, but for the first part, the default gun is more than enough. It’s accurate, and has burst fire. All accompanied by good old ultraviolence: heads pop, bodies fly, like it’s 2000 again.
Also like Bioshock, you can actually upgrade Robocop, it has 8 different skills, each with its perks. I think one of the Mass Effects used a similar linear system.
There are areas where the lack of budget is obvious, though. Mostly lack of facial animations of second-tier NPCs.

Tags Robocop

PC Gaming

Ghost Recon Breakpoint

I keep going back to this game, because let’s be honest, it’s ridiculous. It has some of the best shooting mechanics.

Balistics, firing modes, silencers, the feedback from the weapons is simply amazing. Take their approach for “heavies”, for example. It still takes just two headshots to down them, they don’t become some bullet sponges like in some other games.
Then there’s the hardcore mechanics. Like you don’t regenerate your health fully until you bandage your wounds, and how you limp while wounded, or how you can camouflage yourself while lying down, and that you have to change ammo by magazines, and probably tons of other mechanics I don’t even know exist.

Tags Ghost Recon

PSX Sony

“Why Nintendo Hates Fire Emblem’s Creator”

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date January 15, 2026
No Comments on “Why Nintendo Hates Fire Emblem’s Creator”

Didn’t know the original creator of Fire Emblem series released a Fire Emblem knock-off called TearRing Saga on PSX:

*.DOC

Norman Conquest, Marc Morris

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date January 15, 2026
1 Comment on Norman Conquest, Marc Morris

Started listening to this book after the failure that was “King and Conqueror”.
The way Morris managed to capture the ambiguity of history is quite fascinating. He often compares multiple chroniclers, as some were writing literally a hundred years after the events, and most of them were partisan one way or the other (or in other words, some were Anglo Saxon monks, and some were Norman monks).
He also has a lot of humorous observations: like how Henry the 2nd was considered to be “return to Anglo Saxon roots”, while he was born in France, died in France, spend most of his life fighting in France, and was 1/8 or even 1/16 Anglo Saxon at best.
Or how William the Conqueror at his death was so fat he didn’t fit into his own sarcophagus.
But I digress. Great book, very glad I got to read it.

Tags Marc Morris

Nintendo Switch XBOX

Dark Alliance

Dark Alliance has always been my guilty pleasure. There is something to the simplicity of this game. And how sexualized every female character is.
Turns out I even finished the first episode some 15 years ago in coop, but barely remember anything of it.

The game is surprisingly brutal. Every ARPG can be viewed as economy game: you need to bring more money from the dungeon than you spend. In that sense, Dark Alliance is very close to break even. If you play as Archer, your weapons do very little damage. So you need flame arrows, which require mana, and the arrows themselves, which don’t drop in enough quantities. And you need healing potions, because despite having some regeneration, it’s not nearly enough. The drops aren’t very generous, I might have gotten a +1 gloves, but was better off with buying a leather armor from the vendor. There are “town portals” for shopping trips, but those aren’t cheap either. So you’re basically paying for the great privilege of cleaning the dungeons. At some point in the sewers the only way I managed to bean both the rat miniboss (of course there’s a rat miniboss) and the bugbear boss only by surrounding myself with some crates that they couldn’t navigate, and making a pincushion out of both.

I started the game on original Xbox, then remembered it was ported to Switch, so I switched to it.

Although I must say I probably prefer the low-res look of the original.

The main problem with the game: it’s quite boring in single-player. You don’t get experience quickly enough, so you’re stuck with just one skill for a long, long time, and not enough motivation to continue.

Tags Baldur's Gate, Dark Alliance

*.BAK

Imperial Iron Brew, Vault City Brewing

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date January 14, 2026
No Comments on Imperial Iron Brew, Vault City Brewing

I’m not a fan of sours, but this one, which resided in my fridge for at least a year, was actually pretty good. So much strawberry I couldn’t believe it didn’t have any additives to it. Overall, great one, as expected from Vault City.
Also, let’s just appreciate for a moment this peach color.

Tags beer

*.BAK

Whiskey Advent Calendar

5th bottle is Kavalan Triple Sherry Cask. I’m familiar with Kavalan through their Concermaster, and Triple Cask is no different. It is sweet, if I’d prefer it to be at least 46% instead of 40%. The problem is that this bottle costs 81GBP. For that price, you can get yourself a nice sherried Cask Strength.

6th bottle is Uncle Nearest 1884. It’s a bourbon. You can taste the corn, and it has a surprising afterwarmth to it. But not something I would buy, despite a reasonable price of 55GBP (when available).

Tags Kavalan, Uncle Nearest, whiskey

PS4 Sony

Playstation 4

Half a year ago I sold my “unhackable” Playstation 4 Pro 11.52 for 110GBP. And did I miscalculate.
Two things happened. First, now those are hackable up to 12.52. And second, the RAM price hike drove all the console prices up, even the older ones. Go figure.
In any case, if I wanted to get Playstation 4 Pro now, I would pay at least 150GBP.
Not that I need it. Or not that I can’t afford the price difference. But it is still quite wild.

*.BAK

Painting Scabbik’s Plaguepack

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date January 13, 2026
No Comments on Painting Scabbik’s Plaguepack

Over Christmas, completed my Scabbik’s Plaguepack.

I was preparing so much to glue them, only to discover those are push models. Well, I’m not one to complain about that.
The real challenge if those Skaven models, in addition to regular warpstones, and the tails, are the plumes of smoke that come from their censers.
I tried drybrushing metal, but it mostly got thrown away.
Pleased how pink parts worked, with Bugman Glow, then strangely enough Berserker Bloodshade, then highlight with Bugman Glow again.
I’ve never seen bones/horns done in blue (I don’t remember this particular contrast paint, maybe Kroxigor Scales), but I did it for contrast mostly.
One thing I plainly lack is the discipline to photo the process under the same light all the time.

Tags Warhammer

*.AVI

Letters form Iwo Jima

It’s a movie that requires prior knowledge, as it doesn’t explain a lot. Hard to discern who’s in Navy and who’s in the Army. But it also doesn’t matter much. I thought that it would be a story of heroic stand, or of some struggle, but it is mostly just a collection of anecdotes, without any moral judgement.

It’s an interesting movie, but not a movie you supposed to enjoy, as there is no rhyme or reason to it. Passing of time is convoluted, it is not clear if the siege of the island took a week or a month, the only indications is that at some point they say that they spend 5 days before the final assault.

There is some irony, like the story of the lieutenant that wanted to blow himself with a tank, didn’t find any tanks, and eventually survived. But there isn’t much.