Zero Mission is the remake of original Metroid from NES on GBA. I adore GBA games, because that’s when Nintendo produced some of the most astonishing pixelart of all time.
I haven’t played either the original or Metroid Fusion, which shares the same engine with Zero Mission. I did play a lot of Castlevanias lately, though, so I’d likely compare Zero Mission with them.
First, the fact that Samus is a woman is front and center here. Remember, it was only in the third game in the series that it was revealed originally. But here we can see her eyes right in the opening cinematic, and every time she dies, the suit disappears, revealing her in the blue “undersuit” for a moment.
Second, the game is quite generous in terms of health. You get you first Energy Bank early on, which doubles the initial health pool, and enemies drop health orbs often as well, unlike Castlevanias, where health drops were very rare. On the other hand, Samus isn’t healed on save. Which is slightly annoying, as it means you need to farm enemies to reload fully healed.
I’m pretty sure that statues that show you were to go is a new feature. Quality of life improvement.
Category: Aleosha Blog
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Glenfarclas 105 and Glenfarclas 15
Two tasters I bought on impulse in York.
Let’s start with Glenfarclas 105. Cask strength sherried whiskies are my favorites. So I was rather looking forward to try it out. But it is one of the worst whiskeys I’ve ever had, especially if we take the cost into account. I imagine that’s what all whiskeys taste like to someone who hates whiskeys. Just like drinking wood polish. Yes, it has taste, but far for pleasant.
How about Glenfarclas 15, though? Surely it must be smoother at 46% ABV and aged for longer? It does have a nicer warmth to it, sure. But it still tastes like wood polish, just a bit more dilluted.
I don’t think this has anything to do with being a 5cl taster either, as taster of Bunnahabhain 12 was fantastic, and so was Glen Scotia 15.
I know Glenfarclas has its own fans. But I’m surely won’t be one of them.
I completed Diablo 2 a couple of years ago on PC, and I even gave Diablo 2 Resurrected a go when it just came out. But turns out all that time I played it wrong.
For a normal person, it’s obvious that unique items are better than rare, and rare is better than magic, and magic is better than common. This is how that system works in every ARPG for ages now. Not in Diablo 2, though. The most coveted items are commons with sockets. In original game, you would put some gems in those slots, fun customisation. But in Lord of Destruction they introduced runes, which, if socketed in a correct combination, would create a unique item, but without the RNG involved, and often more powerful.
I also didn’t understand the attack speed at all. For example, if item has “+5% attack speed”, it doesn’t mean your character will attack 5% faster, no. There’s a concept of “breakpoints”: at a certain percentage, a single attack animation frame is reduced. So you need at least “+9% attack speed” in total to see any benefits, then +18%, then 30%.
I already knew the theory behind “player count”: you can multiply enemies power up to 8 times, in order to get higher drop rate and experience. But how a single character can survive a challenge set for 8 players? One of the videos explained it well: if basic enemy has 10HP, it doesn’t matter that at highest difficulty it has 80HP, as long as you can still kill it in a single hit. And the builds revolve around stacking so much damage through skills and runewords that is stop mattering.
Still impressed by what this game has to offer. I assumed that if I completed Kurt’s quest before the coup, he may stay with the band, and the game didn’t disappoint. There’s also quest for Vasco, a sailor. All of the sailors have Maori-like facial tattoos and once you complete his quest line, his appearance also changes. Well done indeed.
It’s not all rosy, of course. The idea of the combat system is that you would first break opponents armor with a blunt weapon, then switch to a sword to finish them. But with the upgrades, you can easily create a weapon that works well against both armored and unarmored opponents, completely negating the point in switching between weapons.
There’s also a reputation system, but story-wise, it is heavily skewed towards natives. You will inevitably loose reputation with Mercenaries during the coup, and since the only healer that can actually help Constantin is the native healer, you will loose reputation with “Spaniards” as well.
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Zwijntje beer
For a 8% beer, it is quite flavourful, and doesn’t leave you with a heavy feeling. But yet again, it’s not distinct enough to justify buying it again.
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Painting Krittok Foulblade
Another jump in difficulty, now with 19 tiny pieces to assemble. If with Deathmaster I still could do without putty, Krittok made me order a bottle, as those pieces of cloak weren’t fitting as well as I wanted them to. Later I noticed that it happens even on the official art.
Putty did wonders, though, filling even the nastiest cracks. And after two layers of base paint and some work with dry brush, I think you really need to know what to look for.
In terms of actual painting, I missed the mark a little.
For the eyes, I should have thinned the Baal Red more. I did better job in the past.
I also tried to do with less shading. Still some Nuln Oil on the skin, I don’t see a way around that yet, and on metallics. But all contrast painted areas are left mostly unshaded for brighter colours.
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Glen Scotia 15
The lifecycle of a whiskey: I buy a few 5cl tasters that sound interesting to me. Out of them, I usually pick something I like and buy a bottle. Alongside that bottle, I buy a couple more tasters I haven’t tried yet. The cycle repeats.
Alongside Tamdhu 15 I got myself a taster of Glen Scotia 15, which honestly one of the most generic whiskey names I could have imagined.
For a American Oak (aka bourbon) whiskey, it is surprisingly sweet, to the point I would have believed it’s sherry, if not for the spiciness. It has amazing amount of warmth in the throat for 46% ABV as well. The subtitle says “Rich and smooth”. Not the smoothest for sure, but very rich indeed. At this point in my life, I would probably stick with sherried whiskies, but a great find nevertheless.
The story did manage to lul me with some predictable plot-twists (protagonist being a Native, his cousin sick with the plague) just to completely blindside me with betrayal of one of the companions, that ends in his death. I wasn’t prepared for this, nor did the game prepare me, as it ruins good half of side-quests. It is still brilliant, though.
What isn’t as brilliant is the battle system. Around level 15 you unlock your “ultimate” skill, which for fighters is simply a rage buff, and that’s it, really.
I’m used to games raining items on you all the time. Not Greedfall. I’ve been running with a yatagan picked from the crab-man miniboss chest for a few hours, and ended up replacing it with a two-handed sword bought from a random merchant.
What I do like about the combat mechanics, though, is a honest cleave. You hit everything with your weapon, no matter if it’s a one-handed or two-handed sword, not only the target.
Visually very impressive, and not pulling punches until the last half, at least.
It’s not a movie about church, though. Or, putting it another way, it’s the worst when it tries to be about church. But it’s a brilliant movie about management. How your organisation starts crumbling once you rely on a combination of verbal agreements and informal decisions most people are either unaware of or don’t see the sense behind.
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AleSmith Barrel Aged Speedway Stout
I remember cachier in California laughing at me, asking if I bought a single can, albeit 500ml, for a price of six-pack by mistake. But I couple of months later I must say it was worth every of the 15$ I spent on it. This is the best beer I had since unobtainable Schorschbrau Schorschbock I brought from Switzerland.
It has almost no “head”. The smell is quite dominant, like a cold espresso. And the taste is sweet, and so smooth. And it leaves you with the warmth both in the throat and belly like the best of whiskies, and with the tranquility like the best of weed. Certainly something to bring from California next time.
It’s fascinating to play Greedfall after Far Cry 6, as Far Cry 6 has breadth, but no depth, with it’s tons of repetitive and shallow missions, while Greedfall has a lot of variety in its quests, but those are few. It becomes quite obvious as you visit San Matheus. I was expected to be flooded with new quests, but there was literally one waiting for me. Also, all three royal palaces have exactly the same layout. Which might be a blessing, though, as you know exactly where to seek audience.
After Kingdom Come Deliverance, it also takes time to adjust to the fact that there’s no “property”. You can pick any loot, and if you have the pick locks skill, you can also lockpick any chest in front of everyone.
Speaking of skills, you get those rarely, and when I started the game, I picked up “Charisma”, which should have allowed me to convince people during some dialogues. The problem is, this is chance based, and if you fail, you don’t get a second attempt. So either you save/load or bribe, when it’s an option, which actually works every time.
There are companion quests, which are broken into multiple phases. Those are great, except for the fact that once accepted, you must hang with that companion until this phase is complete. Taking into account that you can have just two companions at any time, that’s quite the commitment, as I discovered while accepting quest from the “Pirate”.
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Hopus beer
Brasserie Lefebvre are the ones making Barbar, the “honey beer” and Blanche de Bruxelles, the “pissing boy beer”. This one is rather new, from 2023, and promises to feature 5 different types of hops.
The head is tall, two or three fingers, much taller that I prefer. For me the less gas, the better. And the color is much lighter that I’d expect, almost lemony and quite opaque. All in all, it looks more like a hazy tripple IPA than a Belgian beer. And considering the fact that IPAs are always heavy on hops, maybe it makes sense.
I know that I was mostly disappointed by Belgian beers in the past couple of months. And in terms of hops, I didn’t feel much difference. Not too bitter, but also not too complex. But in terms of taste, it is excellent. If you’d tell me it was 10% ABV, I’d believe it. It is rich, and it is smooth, and it provides nice sleepiness for at least a couple of hours. A nice surprise.
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Lego McLaren P1 42172
Finally got to opening it. And it is very impressive. The entire packaging is incredibly smooth and well thought. How the two hefty manuals represent front and read half of the car, how they seamlessly blend into the lid, how flaps of the three boxes with pieces overlap to show a photo of a real P1, with a photo of the Lego model 1:1 underneath.
Putting a single bag took me an hour, but I also didn’t rush. This is the most complex Lego set for me for sure. There are parts that have to be left loosely hanging until later, and the way everythinng is held together is not so much by clicking it, but with using pins.
https://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?catType=P&catString=139
Roe is probably one of my favorite restaurants in London right now. And its chefs are doing some amazing educative videos as well.
This one was about different breeds of meat cows:
The Wagyu beef that is sold in the UK is Hereford’s impregnated with embryos from Japan. Each embryo costs 3K GBP and has 33% success rate.
Belgian Blue cow has a genetic mutation that means they continue to develop muscles. The calf is so big they can’t pass through the birth canal, and thus expensive to grow.
Limousine is very economical, in terms of how fast it grows. It’s not that tasty.
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Gulden Draak Brewmaster’s Edition
Gulden Draak is one of my favorite beers. Brewmaster is basically Gulden Draak Classic, but barrel aged. Lighter in color than the Classic. Some beers smooth away the alcohol. Not this one, here you just feel it. Wonderful beer, that reminds me why I fell in love with Belgian beers in the first place. The only problem is that I’m not sure I’d take it over Classic.
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Tacticus
Unlocked Tarvakh in his release event. Regular release events are doable, unlike Legendary Release Events, that are just look doable, but aren’t.
Unlocked Sarquel from requisitions. Don’t really need Dark Angels, but whatever.
Completed Indomitus Mirror campaign. This open Indomitus Mirror Elite campaign, that brings more rewards.
Completed Octarius campaign. Last fight was a bit tricky, as orcs are squishy. Again, opens Elite campaign, and more resources.
Did two “Blessed” pulls, first with the scrolls I accumulated, then with blackstone, and got… basically nothing. Okay, not true. Now I have tons of Thadeus Noble shards, I guess?
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Cannon Fodder
This game is generally quite evil. Sometimes, you are placed just in front of some bazookas (called snipers for some reason), and your entire squad will be wiped 5 seconds in the first time.
I also thought that maybe bunkers are explained in the manual, but no. Bunkers also spew soldiers indefinitely, just like baracks, but you can only destroy them with a turret, not with regular grenades or rockets. And a turret can be destroyed with a single stray rocket or a grenade, so you are running from infinite soldiers to gun down all the rocket soldiers, and you hope that the game didn’t generate any soldiers with grenades (those are random, as far as I can tell).
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Boy and his Dog, Harlan Ellison
It’s the case where the film is actually better than the novel.
The novel is all told from Vic’s perspective. It is set in a city. Probably the wasteland setting of the film was due to budget constraints. Also, the firefight in the gymnasium doesn’t refer to screamers at all (radioactive ghouls in Fallout universe). Instead, they decide to torch the gym and hide in the boiler room while raiders think that they died and leave them. The main bit that is missing from the novel is the concept of Over the Hill, and the politics of Down Under, “farm” and all. Also, there’s no Michael, the scary enforcer, main “horror” episode in the movie. So it’s a much simpler story, that makes the ending slightly less compelling.
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Painting Skaven Deathmaster
This is the first miniature I’m painting outside of the starter set.
The single miniatures come without instructions, and I even didn’t find a QR code to open them online. So I had to kind of guess how to put it together. And with those miniatures, there’s much more freedom, as you have to glue the pieces instead of just joining them.
Drybrushing worked wonders on that miniature. Maybe because it’s twice as big as the Skaven from starter set. But two layers of base black paint, and then a single layer of grey and white drybrush (Dawnstone, Longbeard Grey, Wrack White) brougth a gradient I wouldn’t ever manage otherwise.
Also, because the miniature is more complex, I could try more contrast paints. Some of them work wonders, some are still quite shitty: Dreadful Visage and Apothecary White are two paints I wouldn’t buy ever again, they are too translucent to be useful.
Despite having 45 paints, I still ran out of them 😆
There are a few reasons for that. First, a lot of my paints are base/layer paints, and not contrast. And this miniature has much more segments than the smaller ones.
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Boy and his Dog (1975)
When I started playing Fallout games back in ’97, I also read through a bunch of postapocalyptic novels. But I skipped “Boy and his Dog” somehow.
Lately, though, I stumbled upon analysis of the movie on YouTube, most likely because I watched a few Fallout 1997 retrospectives from people that discover the original games only now. And after a few minutes of the analysis, I had to watch it.
It’s a terrible movie, so I’m not surprised by the fact that no one ever quoted it. It starts with a gang of bandits raping and killing a random woman, and it doesn’t get any better.
But I can see how entire Fallout sprang from that movie, with peaceful songs accompanying the most brutal scenes. Even the loading screen from Fallout is, and I’m sorry to say it, from a pornographic movie The Boy watches in a theater for a can of sardines.
The Boy is 18 years old, and all he cares about it getting laid. He uses a telepatic connection with his Dog to find women in the Wasteland. And the Dog uses him to aquire food, as with its telepatic abilities, it also lost ability to hunt.
“Rovers” are Raiders. “Down Under” are the Vaults. “Over the Hill” is Eden.
Speaking of Vaults, Down Under is where “We Happy Few” got its inspiration from, most likely. This, and sending people “to the Farm” for infringements. And I guess “Elder’s Proclamation” also influenced Silo.
As I mentioned, the movie is badly acted. The only role worth mentioning is Susanne Benton.
