A Long Awaited Update

So, for anyone who still visits here, I know there hasn't been much activity lately. I was unable to get guest bloggers as I'd hoped, and I let my posts slip to the wayside because of my increasing urgency to find work. I've been hunting for jobs up and down with little luck so far, and that seemed like a bigger priority. I'm declaring post 4 of the Tale of Five Empires series to be the last of that story, as it ends the reign of Emperor Svend, the main character up until now. It was fun and I'm glad quite a few people (over 1,000 per post!) enjoyed my storytelling. Someday I may continue with the epic Old Gods tale I promised, but I have other things on my plate right now.

Thank you to everyone who has visited this blog over the past few months. I hope you all found something you enjoyed. I'm not quitting yet, as I plan to make updates every now and again if I can, but they will be on a much less frequent basis. So keep me in your bookmarks and feeds, check every month or so, and maybe I'll have something you enjoy. Thanks for reading this summer, and if you're new, I encourage you to take a moment and look through what I've posted before.

Until next time,
-Arcthos

Failure can be Fun

So the great Steam Summer Sale has come and gone for this year, with its slew of discounts and marketable trading cards. I bought a couple of things I'd had my eye on for a while, but one of my best purchases was a new game one of my friends recommended to me. It's called Rogue Legacy, and the basic idea is that you are playing a dynasty of adventurers trying to uncover the secrets of this one castle. Your character can actually die on their adventure, but that's where your offspring come in. Every time you die you get a choice from one of three possible children to avenge you. The only catch is their class is randomly chosen and they may come with a few...interesting genetic traits. For example, I was recently Lady Henrietta III, a gay paladin with ADHD (which makes you move really fast). You can also be colorblind or near-sighted, among many other traits.

The fun doesn't stop there, however. The castle itself is randomly generated each time a new adventurer enters it, which means your descendants won't be able to rely on your prior knowledge of the castle's layout. And speaking of entering, be prepared to give your friendly local gatekeeper Charon all of the gold you currently have as a toll. He never charges more or less; the price is always however much happens to be on your person at the time. Because of this it's best to spend as much as possible of your hard-earned wealth on equipment, runes, and improvements to your family's ancestral manor, which is how you raise stats and unlock new classes. Every time you buy an improvement in a new area, it unlocks more of the manor with further upgrades. Tip: Health and Carry Weight are pretty important. Some of the items weigh a surprising amount.

All in all, a very solid, challenging game that's already provided me with several hours of entertainment. I defeated the first boss at about 3.5 hours of gameplay in a fight that cost me eight generations of champions, giving a very rewarding feeling when he at last succumbed to Sir Harold, a giant shinobi. Point of frustration: Dying several times without getting enough gold to buy anything. Usually this works itself out after a few heroes, but it really made me hate Charon's toll even more. On a scale of ten, I give Rogue Legacy a 9 for taking a simple concept and convincing me to come back for more. Check it out on Steam if you haven't already.

-Arcthos

News Update 7/19/13

Hey everyone, I'm back! When I got back from vacation I had some computer issues and wasn't able to prepare much in the way of posts. I think I've found a reliable workaround for now, at least until I build a new desktop PC. Here's a look at what you can likely expect over the next few weeks:

Completion of the Tale of Five Empire series
Various game reviews/anticipated upcoming titles
Possible news of an Indiegogo/Kickstarter Project I may be starting soon
Any other topics I find interesting

I will also be posting my desktop build here once it's finished, for all of you hardware enthusiasts out there. Thank you to all of my readers, however many or few, who are staying with me. I am thinking of looking for guest posters to fill in from time to time, especially in case I run into an issue like this again.

-Arcthos

A Tale of Five Empires, Part 4

The Old Man of Europe

Advanced age has finally set in for Emperor Svend the Great, once known as the Boy Sovereign when he took the throne at the age of 6. He aches, creaks, and groans, but is determined to remain strong in the eyes of his loyal vassals. He did not lead Europe through one of its periods of greatest turmoil only to quietly recede into the distance now. As a positive sign of things to come, the wound Svend received while fighting rebels after the ill-fated Syrian jihad has begun to heal, leaving behind a scar to mark his valiant efforts.

News Update 6/20/13

This is just a quick update, mostly for those who are following the Tale of Five Empires series. I plan to post part 4 either tomorrow or over the weekend. It's taking a little longer than I anticipated (I was busier than usual this past week), but I should be able to make that deadline. There will be a part 5 due to having a lot of content I want to write about (such as the Pope declaring a Crusade). I would say that will be the last part, but every time I've said that so far I've been proven wrong, so if you're having fun just sit back and enjoy the show for as long as it keeps going.

Also, the Norse faith has officially been confirmed for my next playthrough. Blood for the All-Father!

-Arcthos