#there are so many nuggets throughout that indicate this I could make a separate post on it

[skyloftian-nutcase]

A Promise of Armor (Breath of the Wild Miphlink story)

I’m a sucker for these two, really.

Summary: Mipha planned on giving Link the Zora armor, yet 100 years later it was found in Zora’s domain in her family’s safekeeping. So what happened on that fateful evening when she was to offer it? Did she gather the courage or decide to keep her feelings to herself?

The sunset glittered on the water’s surface, a wavy disc of glowing gold and crimson that cast watery patterns of light all over the rock walls. The air was warm, but not uncomfortably so, and the coolness of the breeze and Vah Rutah’s trunk beneath him balanced it well. Link remained still as Mipha continued to heal his arm, watching her work. The glow of her magic illuminated her face like the stones that glittered around the Domain, and Link found his eyes lingering on her face for far longer than he’d intended.

 By the goddesses, she’s beautiful.

 Mipha was talking softly about the past, singlehandedly carrying the conversation as she often did. Link sometimes felt bad at how quiet he’d grown around her, but at this point he could barely make himself speak around anyone. The Calamity was coming closer, doubt was greater than ever about Zelda’s abilities, and more pressure was being put on him. He wanted nothing more than to be able to make Mipha smile and speak with her, but he could barely get more than two words strung together around anyone outside of those who could directly relate to what he was feeling. Mipha was a Champion of the Zora – she understood the pressures as well, which was honestly why he could speak to her at all at this point, but she was to act as support. The duty was Link’s to end things.

 The anxiety was crippling, and he wasn’t sure he could take it much longer. He hated this tense anticipation that had been hanging over everyone. A part of him wished Ganon would just arrive so they could get it over with, as if it were a simple knight academy test, and he wanted to smack himself for it.

 “I was always willing to heal your wounds, even back then.”

 Link felt his arm grow warm as if dipped in a hot spring, the muscles relaxing. Mipha’s supporting hand on his skin had made his entire body react, and he felt a little relieved as she pulled away, the healing finished. His heart rate slowed, and he examined his arm, still in awe of the power she had.

 “So if this Calamity Ganon does, in fact, return, what can we really do?”

 Link shifted, trying to take a relaxed posture beside her. He felt his chest tighten at the question, at hearing doubt from someone who he wanted least to utter it.

 “We just don’t seem to know much about what we’ll be up against,” Mipha said uncertainly. Link glanced at her, worried and confused. He wished he could reassure her, tell her it would be fine; he honestly didn’t know where this worry was coming from. Mipha had always been determined and eager to help, always happy to see him and wanting to catch up, but she seemed so serious this evening. He supposed maybe she was feeling the pressure as much as he was.

 Mipha’s eyes grew determined as she continued, “But know this: no matter how difficult this battle might get… if you—if anyone tries to do you harm, then I will heal you.”

 Link’s anxiety melted a little at the reassurance, at the sheer absolute certainty of the statement. Mipha looked him dead in the eyes when she spoke, wanting to ensure he knew she was serious. He wouldn’t have doubted her anyway.

 “No matter when, or how bad the wound, I hope you know… that I will always protect you.”

 Link swallowed, his throat dry. This was both something he didn’t want to hear and was exactly what he wanted to hear. He didn’t know how to feel, his mind was whirling, they were so close and she was pledging to protect him. He felt so safe in the knowledge and so terrified at the same time, like he didn’t even want to ponder the idea that she’d be anywhere near the danger… but more than anything, her words felt like an embrace, a promise that he wouldn’t be facing this alone.

 Tears began to sting in his eyes, and he swallowed again, biting his tongue in an attempt to keep himself together. Thankfully, Mipha was looking at her own clasped hands in her lap, so she didn’t see the emotional hurricane that was tossing his heart and mind in twenty different directions at once.

 “Once this whole thing is over…” she said, and suddenly her posture shifted from the sincere and heartfelt promise to something far shier. “Maybe things can go back to how they used to be when we were young.”

 Link marveled at the thought of it, at the thought of anything after it was over. He hadn’t given a single moment to considering such a thing, too wrapped up in what was happening at the moment. Had Mipha been thinking about it a lot?

 When we were young… Link remembered his time in the Domain as a child, running around and playing with the other children in the area, laughing and spending hours with Mipha, exasperating Muzu to no end. He almost felt a ghost of a smile trace his lips at the thought of it, but it didn’t quite reach his face, because those days were so long ago, and they felt impossibly far away.

 “You know… perhaps we could spend some time together?”

 Raising his eyes from her lap, he saw her smiling at him, and his heart fluttered at the sight. By the goddesses, he wanted nothing more than to be able to spend time with Mipha and not constantly worry about his destiny. It was the reason he’d decided to return to the Domain, to get away from all of it while he still had small bits of time to do so.

 Link tried to speak, tried to say he would love to spend time with her. He wished he could stay with her now right here on Vah Rutah and never leave. He looked into her eyes and wanted to say so much, but he just couldn’t. She looked so sincere, so hopeful, and his throat tightened up. Mipha let out a small, nervous laugh, looking at the sunset, and Link wanted to punch himself for leaving her hanging like that.

 “I guess I’m just rambling,” she muttered, looking at her clasped hands again.

 That was it, he had to do something.

 Reaching over, he took her hand in his own. The touch made her blush, but for Link it was a gesture of kindness more than anything. However, their arms brushed for just a moment, and her cool skin against his made the hair on his arm stand up. He cleared his throat, trying to figure out what he could do or say, his heart already racing once more.

 Mipha seemed to take courage in the gesture, and she squeezed his hand. “Link, I… I want to give you something.”

 Link turned to face her a little better, cocking his head to the side. Mipha reached behind her for a bag, and she hesitated. He watched her for what seemed like an eternity as she debated with herself, and he wondered what sort of a gift this could be that she would be unsure about giving it to him. Did she think he wouldn’t like it?

 Did she think he didn’t deserve it?

 Link bit the inside of his cheek, chasing the doubting thought away. She had literally just promised to protect him and be there for him. This was likely related to that. So why would she hesitate after making such a declaration?

 Taking a deep breath, Mipha reached into the bag and pulled out a blue article of clothing. She held it out to him with her head bowed, not making eye contact. Link slowly took the clothing from her, touched that she would make something for him. He traced his fingers over the garment and realized it was a form of armor, which made him even happier. This was tied directly into her promise to protect him, and he found himself completely at a loss for words even if he were able to speak them.

 And then he saw the scale.

 Link had spent years at the Domain. He knew their lore, their history, their culture. He knew what that represented.

 This was Zora armor that princesses gifted to their betrothed.

 Link felt his heart seemingly stop. His world grew quiet, his mind numb. He stared at the armor, unable to take his eyes off the beautiful, precious scale in the center of the chest piece.

 Mipha’s scale.

 Movement caught his eye, and he saw Mipha’s hands fidgeting in her lap. His eyes slowly traced their way up her figure, looking for where the scale could have come from, wondering if it had already grown back, wondering if it had hurt to remove it, and then his eyes met hers.

 Gold looked into blue, waiting for an answer. Blue looked into gold, shocked that it was even a question.

 Link leaned forward and seemingly melted into her, his hands reaching for her face and pulling her into a kiss.

 His body was screaming. His heart was going to explode. What am I doing?!

 Pulling away quickly, he felt his cheeks burn with horror and embarrassment. He briefly caught a glimpse of her own blush, her wide eyes, and he looked down. His gaze landed on the armor, and he felt his world spin around him.

 Mipha loved him. Mipha wanted to marry him.

 This was… this was too much. This couldn’t be happening.

 Did he love her? Of course he did. But could he emotionally handle this? Would this even be possible? She was a princess, he knew the difference between him and her, the protocols, the expectations, the—

 The fingernails tracing under his chin, small calloused hands pushing his gaze back to their owner.

 Mipha watched him, her face a mixture of so many emotions. She glowed with happiness, her brow creased in worry, she bit her lip with anxiety, tears glistened in her eyes with hope…

 Link let out a sob, catching himself and his friend off guard. He covered his mouth immediately, horrified and panicked. Another sob tried to push its way out of him, and he bit his lip until it bled. The sob escaped anyway, though with his lips closed it sounded more like a choke. His vision swam with unshed tears.

 Stop, stop, stop—

 He didn’t know what to do, his body completely foreign all of a sudden. He looked down, squeezing his eye shut, his entire body shaking with each cry that silently tore out of him. Somehow, despite the fact that he was bawling, he was still silent.

 And then he smiled. He looked up and he smiled at her, his face stained with tears, his lips trembling as the cries still escaped them in soft gasps.

 She loves me. She wants to be with me. She promises to be with me, to support me, to help me.

 Link had felt so isolated, so alone this entire time. Zelda had been opening up to him, and they’d become good friends in that time, but there was still a distance between them, a formality that had never existed between Mipha and Link despite how they had to behave in public around each other.

 More than that, Link had loved Mipha this entire time. Her gentleness, her caring nature, her determination, her laughter, everything about her he had loved for what felt like years now. Age and the times had tempered his mannerisms around her, but not his heart… if anything his body had become more reactive around her as the year had gone by. And though he’d gotten stolen glances from her, though she’d been attentive and caring, he’d never suspected it was anything more than their dear and close friendship from childhood.

 Mipha finally moved, interpreting his reaction correctly. She smiled, tears freely falling, and pulled him into a hug. Link let out a laugh mixed with a sob, completely out of control, collapsing into her small frame.

 “I love you,” Mipha whispered as she held him tightly, her body trembling.

 I love you too, he thought, too overwhelmed to speak. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her in return. He pulled away to look her in the eye, his tears finally subsiding. Mipha’s gaze drifted to his lips and she made a soft noise.

 “Your lip,” she noted, and Link vaguely remembered biting it to the point of breaking the skin. He hadn’t noticed the bleeding, his face already wet with tears running down his cheeks and chin. Mipha returned her gaze to his eyes. “Let me heal it.”

 Link leaned back a little so her hand could touch his face, and she put a hand on his cheek, her thumb tracing his lower lip. His entire body shuddered, and goosebumps rose all over his skin. He couldn’t look away from her, the air stolen from his lungs.

 A faint glow emitted from her hand, shining in both their eyes as they refused to break contact, and Mipha bent forward slowly as they both leaned into another kiss. The hand that had been on his face stroked his cheek, the long nails tickling his skin.

 As they pulled away, both hovered close to each other, not yet ready to entirely let go. Mipha finally broke the silence, whispering, “Take your shirt off.”

 If it was possible, Link’s heart raced even faster, his eyes widening. The immediate statement that came to mind was, I’ll take everything off if you want, and he felt his cheeks burn at the mere thought of it. It was a good thing he couldn’t speak at the moment.

 Mipha also suddenly blushed, stuttering, “W-wait, I meant—like so you can try the armor—I—I—”

 Spluttering, Mipha leaned away from him entirely, burying her face in her hands. The heat in Link’s body diminished, replaced with affection, and he let out a small laugh as he also leaned back. He slipped out of his Champion tunic with ease, respectfully folding it and putting it aside while Mipha still tried to rationalize her statement. He picked up the armor and marveled at the sensation of it once more before slowly slipping it over his head. The fit was perfect, snug and comfortable without clinging, and it slid over him like water over a stone. He cleared his throat to get Mipha’s attention.

 Looking up, Mipha was about to say something else when she gasped instead. “You… you look…”

 Link smiled at her as she was suddenly lost for words, and he found that he had the strength to fill the void. “Thank you.”

 The rest of the sunset was spent in silence, side by side as they watched the vestiges of light drain from the sky. Stars came out, sparkling and shimmering, winking at the couple. Eventually the night air grew chilly, and despite huddling together for warmth, both recognized that it was time to go.

 “I… have another surprise for you,” Mipha said as Vah Rutah’s trunk lowered to the water.

 Link looked at her curiously. What more could she possibly give than herself? What more could he possibly give in return?

 “I suppose you noticed the… the new accommodations at the dock. They’ve been there for a while.”

 Link looked over at the dock where the stairs fed into the reservoir. Yes, he’d noticed the beautiful overhang, a seeming little protective area with chairs, a desk, and a bed. It had been there for a few months now, and he’d seen it on his last two visits. He’d wondered what it was about; Mipha didn’t need a bed to sleep in, though she could do so if desired. He couldn’t think of who else would need a bed by her Divine Beast.

 “They’re for you.”

 His eyes snapped back to Mipha.

 The Zora princess’ white, glossy cheeks were so stained with red they were almost indistinguishable from her red scales. “I… I had it made for you so we could spend time together here. I just… I—I wasn’t sure if, well, you know, if you’d… it was just a lot, and it seemed like a weird thing to say if you weren’t—well, what I mean is—”

 Link planted a quick kiss on her lips to save her from herself. The sensation was still so new, so electrifying, so amazing. Mipha giggled in relief, understanding the gesture. Without another word, both dove off the trunk of the Divine Beast and swam to the dock.

 Walking to the small bedroom, Link examined the area. There were multiple elixirs and ingredients for cooking on the table, as well as serving dishes and cups. The bed had multiple warm blankets and was clearly a water bed, much to his delight.

 Laughter made his ears perk up, but it wasn’t Mipha’s. It was somewhere else, distant, off in the main part in the Domain.

 Reality suddenly came crashing down in an instant.

 Link was a lowly knight, whether he was chosen by destiny or not, and he was a Hylian. Mipha was a Zora princess, beloved by her people, one of whom was the king’s closest advisor and was not a fan of Hylians. Whether they loved each other or not… this was not a simple matter.

 Heaviness crushed him, and he felt the happiness drain out of him.

 “Link? What’s wrong?” Mipha asked, worried.

 Surprisingly, he could choke out the word. “Muzu.”

 Mipha paused a moment, and then sighed. “I know. But that’s not something to worry about right now. We’ll figure it out after everything is over.”

 Yes. Yes, they would. After everything is over. For once, Link could actually consider such a thing. But it didn’t last long, and he was back in the present, destiny waiting for him to fulfill his duty.

 But he wasn’t alone.

 Link nodded and smiled at Mipha, at his friend, at his fiancée.

 She smiled back. “Do you like the room?”

 Link gave a single dip of his head to heartily answer her, and she beamed. Then he glanced at the armor once more as he realized that this beautiful gift would have to remain hidden while he was in the Domain… and probably beyond the Domain’s borders as well. He was still the Hylian Champion, and that was his biggest priority right now.

 Though perhaps people outside of the Domain wouldn’t understand what the armor meant. Perhaps he could wear it into battle.

 But no. He should respect the effort Zelda had put into the Champion garb she had made for everyone. It was only fitting that he wore that instead. It spoke of a different promise, of a duty to fulfill, one that he hadn’t done yet.

 And so, with loving and reverent movements, he slipped out of the armor Mipha had made for him, and folded it, holding it out to her. “Keep it safe?”

 Mipha, face now somehow redder than her fins, cleared her throat. “O-of course.”

 Link put the Champion tunic back on and smiled at her. The two settled into a comfortable silence for a moment, and then Link sank into the bed, patting the empty space beside him. Mipha’s eyes widened, but she didn’t argue, slipping under the covers, her body pressed against his. Despite her quickened breathing and their proximity, Link felt relaxed, comfortable, safe. He exhaled slowly, planting a small kiss on her head and then closing his eyes. Mipha’s muscles eased beside him, and he felt her pull the covers tightly around them.

 With consciousness fading away and worries held at bay by the woman he loved, Link finally had the courage to say it. “I love you.”

 He didn’t have to look at her to know she was smiling. “I love you too.”

[ciathyzareposts]

Amazon – Final Rating

Written by TBD

It’s time to see how Amazon: Guardians of Eden fares in our PISSED rating. In my rating I’ll be specifically comparing it to the developer’s predecessor, Martian Memorandum.

Do I feel like I was treated to an incredible journey of adventure? Let’s find out.

Puzzles and Solvability

Ah, puzzles. Those who’ve been reading along have probably noticed my frustration with many of the puzzle choices in this game. In previous Final Ratings I’ve mentioned my trilogy of ‘bad’ puzzle design. I’m going to add a fourth bad puzzle to that list in future due to this game.

Mazes: No mazes in this game. And they could have easily done a repetitive jungle maze so, thank you Access Software.

Dead-ends: Sigh – there are a lot of dead-ends in this game. I came across a few myself but could see many potential others. I see no good at all in these dead ends. They detract from the atmosphere and urgency and add to the frustration.

Bad mini-games: There are a few little mini-games; the river canoeing, the walking around the slaver boat avoiding the first mate and solving puzzles. They work well. They both add to the game and don’t overstay their welcome (okay, paddling down the river overstayed its welcome a bit with its three long sections – I did four sections, but that’s largely a dead-end issue.)

And now…Timed sequences: Oh, the timed sequences in this game. In general these timed sequences add to the atmosphere that I’ll get to in the “E” section. But from a puzzle standpoint – constant deaths without giving me time to think are just annoying.

Some of the inventory puzzles are baffling. Giving the boat Captain cigarettes and a nugget of gold as passage is ridiculous both from a story perspective and because both items can be easily missed and even if I knew a gold nugget would be required, which I had no indication of, the last way I’d expect to get it would be from a poor serving boy in a small village.

Some other puzzles would be much more rewarding if I hadn’t been rushed by timed sequences. The bridge of death sequence could have worked excellently but I spent most of the time there just dreading the moment I ran out of time – let me try a few things before I die, game!

I can’t think of any particularly good puzzles. Turning on the librarian’s car headlights so she leaves her post back in Chapter 2 was one of the few times I got some information and had to work out what to do. I also somewhat enjoyed the cannibal village where I had to solve a few simple puzzles – but the potential enjoyment was quickly tempered by frustration as I was in a timed sequence.

The Chapter style hurt here. After the first few chapters each screen was largely separate and once I entered I couldn’t leave without solving the puzzle. This would have made the game easy without the dead-ends – perhaps the dead-ends were an attempt to make the game more challenging. Have I mentioned how much I think dead-ends detract from the puzzle-solving experience?

I mentioned when I was stuck near the end that I wouldn’t be happy if I needed an arrow after not being able to take obvious arrows earlier – fear my wrath, Access!

The empty eye socket stares blankly toward me and the arrows sticking out of his ribs steadfastly refuse to be interacted with…

… however, a different arrow hiding behind a nondescript bush needs to be taken in order to proceed two chapters later

I told you I wouldn’t be happy, game. I was already going to score very low here so this issue isn’t altering the final score but I still wanted to vent my frustration.

I considered giving this game either a 2 or a 3 for this category, but I also thought I might give it some credit for the included hint system. So how about we stick with a 3.

Final score: 3

Interface and Inventory

The interface itself is largely a slight improvement over Martian Memorandum’s. The inventory list and verb icons have changed from text to graphics.

The lack of tooltips, which I’ve mentioned as a negative in a few of my recent Final Ratings, has more of an effect here than other games. When I’m at the Bridge of Death, the middle of the bridge is a different item to the rest of the bridge. But of course, I don’t find that out until after I’ve died quite a few times because I’m in a timed sequence and don’t have time to properly examine my surroundings. Pixel hunts aren’t fun!

The inventory works well enough. The graphical representations have a text label when I move the mouse over them. (See Access Software, you do know how to do tooltips – try using them in the game screen as well.) There is combining of inventory items, which was used a few times and worked simply, with the graphics of the two items zooming out before the graphic of the combined item zoomed in.

It is good that items that are no longer useful leave my inventory so I don’t spend too long trying inventory objects on everything when I’m stuck, but why do I have Jason’s car keys with me for the entire game? 

I gave a 3 to Martian Memorandum, so I’ll leave it the same. There are some graphical improvements but the negatives are exacerbated by timed sequences and dead-ends.

Final score: 3

Story and Setting

The story was good. Much of what I liked about it will actually be covered in the Environment and Atmosphere section so I’ll stick to story and setting for the S rating.

The story was simple, but fun. It didn’t have the emotional impact that Martian Memorandum had on me, and it wasn’t anywhere near as fun an adventure story as Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, but it was still good. Even when I was frustrated by the puzzles I still wanted to keep playing to see the story play out.

I’m still wondering why Maya decided to spend the night just outside the secret door to the safety of her temple, giving Sanchez the opportunity to catch up to them, shoot Maya and find the secret door.

The Amazon jungle makes a good setting for an adventure game. My first thought was that the jungle setting was slightly underused here, but as I thought more about it I recalled that there are a lot of set pieces in the jungle – we saw cannibals, piranhas, a small village, an old Spanish treehouse, and of course the Amazon river itself. Most of the sequences are very short and the ones that are long are only long because they’re full of deaths and reloads.

The game is worthy of a solid score here.

Final score: 6

Sound and Graphics

The FMV sequences were an admirable addition – having full video when talking to people was nice and added to the movie serial atmosphere they were going for. Fully voiced adventure games are becoming closer to the norm now but full motion video is still new and only used in a few games. I’m sure it will take on and most games will be using FMV in a few years…

Apart from the FMV, the graphics and sound are about as expected for the time. It’s not as good as some of the best games, but it’s good enough. Things generally look like what they are supposed to. Which is understandable when you realise they actually used toys with paintings as backgrounds.

They did make some alterations after digitizing. Including turning an orange car blue!

The voice clips have a noticeable clicking sound at the start and end of each, but I’m not sure if that’s a dosbox emulator issue and it’s not distracting enough to change the rating.

The music again does its job. As usual for me I don’t remember much game music but when I go back to sample it for this rating the different pieces are appropriate for each situation and do their job of not distracting me from the game, so a thumbs up without being exceptional there.

Martian Memorandum got a 4 for the sound and graphics section. The slight improvement gives this game a 5.

Final score: 5

Environment and Atmosphere

The atmosphere is great. They were aiming for an old fashioned serial feel and nailed it. I felt somewhat Indiana Jones-y (it’d probably give me more of that feeling if I hadn’t recently played an excellent adventure game that made me feel extremely Indiana Jones-y.)

Though technically swinging on a vine is more Tarzan-y than Indiana Jones-y

And despite my disdain for them, the timed sequences do help the atmosphere here! They add to the urgency and the feeling of danger. I still hate these sequences with a passion, but for the purposes of environment and atmosphere, they do have a positive effect!

One negative though – the dead-ends detract from this somewhat. After a few deaths I stop thinking about the setting and game and just concentrate on trying to do things before time runs out.

What would Indiana Jones do if he forgot to pick up something that would become useful two chapters later? Would he give up, upset that he missed the item, or would he find some way to solve the problem with the items at hand? Alternate solutions to puzzles could have helped here – this game was designed to live by its atmosphere – bringing the story to a dead halt and forcing me back a few chapters lessens the impact considerably.

Martian Memorandum got a 6 here, and this game does the atmosphere a little bit better but undoes some of the good work with the immersion breaking dead-ends. I’ll stick with a 6 for this one.

Final score: 6

Dialogue and Acting

The dialogue was pretty good. Almost every character was a stereotype and written exactly as you’d expect. But that fitted in to the cheesy 50s serial vibe they were going for and worked well at evoking that vibe throughout. The game never fell into the trap of taking itself too seriously. Colonel Sanchez in particular is very over the top, both in writing and acting.

Colonel Sanchez – just a pair of glasses and a sense of humour away from being Groucho Marx

The dialogue puzzles in the game weren’t as successful. Maya leaving after I failed the dialogue puzzle because I was mistrustful of her made little sense, particularly after I found out her history. They’d work better if we got multiple chances to succeed or if they were less specific about what was required – the chances of me working the puzzle out by thinking it through rather than trial-and-error was low, but at least failing dialogue resulted in a death screen rather than another dead-end.

Ah the acting. In some ways it hits the ‘so bad it’s good’ mark – my particular favourite was Jason’s “Nooooo” when his brother sacrifices himself for their safety. Other times it just hits the ‘it’s bad’ mark.

It’s no surprise that when I looked the game up on IMDB, almost all of the actors had only this game as an acting credit. But they give it a good go.

I did like that there was physical acting as well as voice acting. Talking to people and having them physically move their mouths and bodies as they reply added to the realism.

I gave Martian Memorandum a 7 before taking away two points for bad grammar and spelling. I was pleasantly surprised that I only found one error in this game. I wasn’t particularly looking for them so there may have been more but they were a major distraction in the previous game so I’m very happy Access put the effort into getting it right this time.

This game also improved on Martian Memorandum by having more acting – the cheesiness of the acting, while often bad, served a purpose. How much of that cheesiness was a deliberate decision rather than just a consequence of actors unable to convey subtleties doesn’t change that the result worked often enough. If the game had taken itself seriously the acting would have been a negative here.

But the writing evoked less emotion than Martian Memorandum. I still feel something when I think of the massacred colonists of the Stanton Expedition. So I’ll give us a 6 for this. A slight step down overall but a step up in proofreading and acting.

Final Rating: 6 Final Rating

This gives us a Final rating of… 3+3+6+5+6+6*10/6, which equals…

48 seems fair. I liked this game a little less than Martian Memorandum, which scored 50, and while I appreciated the dedication and success at emulating the cheesy mid-20th century serials, as a game the frustration to enjoyment ratio ended up rather high. It started on a good note though and I was really enjoying it, but it started to get increasingly frustrating around Chapter 6 or 7, which was coincidentally when I started hitting dead-ends and timed sequences.

In fact, this entire Final Rating can be summed up by a comment made by ShaddamIVth in the penultimate gameplay post…

The B-movie element is surprisingly gripping, they seem to be well aware of how cheesy they are being and using it to good effect. If only they were aware of how frustrating they were being with the timed sequences, I have never felt them to be fair in adventure games where you’re supposed to explore as much as possible.

Well said, ShaddamIVth. I couldn’t agree more.

So for my personal PISSEDOFF rating, where I include how much fun I thought the game was. What would be my Overall Fun Factor rating? 3. A score of 3 from me means I won’t be playing the game again in the future but it did have some kind of redeeming quality. The bottom line is that I just didn’t like this game as a whole – it wasn’t terrible, but the frustrating parts made much of the second half of it a chore rather than fun and that frustration quickly overtook the good the game did. I’d have likely enjoyed it a lot more if I wasn’t playing it for the blog and could just use the hint section as soon as I started to get frustrated. But I wasn’t, so the PISSEDOFF rating ends up as… 3+3+6+5+6+6+3+3+3*10/9 which equals 42! A much lower score but a much more ultimate answer.

The crew from Access Software will be back in 1994 in their continuing attempt to combine full motion video with adventure game puzzles when they release Under a Killing Moon! And we’ll be there to cover it sometime between 2019 and 2022!

CAP Distribution

100 CAPs to TBD

Blogger Award -100 CAPs – For playing through the game for everyone’s enjoyment (I would have gotten more CAPs if I got 1 CAP every time I reloaded to an earlier saved game)

55 CAPs to Joe Pranevich

Classic Blogger Award – 50 CAPs – for playing through Wishbringer for our enjoyment (MEOW!)

Telling Tales Award – 5 CAPs – for passing on the news about Telltale Games going out of business after making a number of Adventure Games in recent years.

30 CAPs to Laukku

Psychic Prediction Award – 10 CAPs – for guessing the Final Rating of Amazon by simply averaging the other Access games 

While Stocks Last Award – 5 CAPS – for letting us know that we should download our Telltale games again because they should now work without DRM 

Aces High Award – 5 CAPs – for letting us know that the Ace Attorney series will be coming soon to current consoles and PC for the first time 

Classic Prediction Award – 10 CAPs – for guessing the Final Rating of Wishbringer

24 CAPs to Lisa H

Does Whatever a Spider Can – 5 CAPs – for pointing out that the Amazon must be home to a new terrifying creature – the spider-jaguar! 

For Granite Award – 3 CAPs – for pointing out that the useless clue may be useful in some circumstances 

Film Crew Award – 4 CAPs – for pointing out that Allen Roberts’ favourite film is actually real! 

If Wishes Were Horses – 7 CAPs – for pointing out more alternate solutions to Wishbringer 

Get Out of Jail Free Award – 5 CAPs – for mentioning that there are more ways to escape jail in Wishbringer

20 CAPs to Leo Velles

What’s Your Story Award – 20 CAPs – for submitting his What’s Your Story answers

20 CAPs to Michael

Appreciation of Your Appreciation Award – 4 CAPs – for twice thanking TBD for sacrificing his time to constantly reloading old saved games. 

Abstinence Award – 3 CAPs – for being disappointed that there wasn’t a sex scene at the end 

Six Degrees of Murray Award – 3 CAPs – for playing the Kevin Bacon game without including Kevin Bacon 

Tell it to the Judge Award – 5 CAPs – for pointing out that Darlene looks (and acts) suspiciously like Judge Judy 

Dog People Award – 5 CAPs – for noticing that with the exception of the Coles, most adventure gamers aren’t nice to our feline friends in their games (MEOW!)

12 CAPs to Alex Romanov

Assistance Confirmed Award – 2 CAPs – for confirming that Voltgloss’ hints would be required 

Assistance Granted Award – 10 CAPs – for helping TBD when he got stuck in front of the Amazon Queen 

11 CAPs to ShaddamIVth

Succinctly Said Award – 6 CAPs – for inadvertently summing up TBD’s final rating in a single paragraph 

Bad Luck Award – 5 CAPs – For pointing out that there may in fact be graphics in Wishbringer and that the graphics just meld into the black background (MEOW!)

10 CAPs to Voltgloss

Assistance Granted Award – 10 CAPs – for helping TBD when he had gotten himself dead-ended by not breaking into a truck and stealing the driver’s cigarettes 

10 CAPs to Ilmari

Solidarity Award – 5 CAPs – for showing sympathy at TBD’s annoyance with timed sequences

It Is Very Dark Award – 5 CAPs – for pointing out an alternate solution to getting to the theater in Wishbringer

10 CAPs to MisterKerr

Friends With Benefits Award – 5 CAPs – for having a friend’s dad work for Access during the day and being able to see this game while it was being made as a kid 

More Friends With Benefits Award – 5 CAPs – for having helped members of Access Software at Comic Con as an adult

6 CAPs to Will Moczarski

Encoded comments Award – 6 CAPs – for discussing Wishbringer with possibly the longest sequence of ROT13 ever seen in our comments section

5 CAPs to limbeck

Choking On Ambitions Award – 5 CAPs – for pointing out the dangers of treating precious gems as food. 

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/amazon-final-rating/

[chandasadleir0-blog]

The Excitement Of Getting Your First House.

Collection Information: ₤ 18m approach for Man Utd target, Ozil enjoyment, Palace ace speaks out. So they transferred their campaigns onto Indiegogo's InDemand platform. Founded in 1896, the Augustiner-Keller is among Munich's oldest beer yards and back in the day individuals would commonly bring their own tables to appreciate the experience!! The major objective is to offer people a means to synchronize as many netbooks as they desire with their Jolicloud account, including preferences, set up apps, and so on. If you have any questions regarding where and how you can use eurotel-live.cz, you can call us at our web-page. Last year, 2600 magazine was compelled to quit linking to a software program application that prevented DVD duplicate protection. But just what I knew about the results of tension as well as anxiety didn't square with that sight: however, worry has the tendency to prevent sexuality via the stress hormonal agent cortisol. We bring people with each other to take pleasure in Halloween with friends and family and experience the scare of their lives (although we take care to tone points down to ensure that young kids are captivated greater than scared).|However, most women I discover aren't sure ways to please a male in bed. The majority of males are rather accustomed to the range of things that could go 'wrong' throughout combining with a partner. Excitement has been lacking at the club since the days of Ferguson, with David Moyes and Louis van Gaal now infamous for the insipid football their teams would produce. Manager Peter Houston is entering his third full period with the Bairns and he states that, regardless of the dissatisfaction of missing out on promotion, consistent development has actually been made.|X Prize Pledges $15M for Software That Lets Kid Show Themselves. While social remains in fact, a second focus of the experience - competitively playing video games is the initial - it's the social communications that actually protrude as the most effective that I've seen yet in Virtual Reality. In various other experiences where social is the main focus, frequently you get a cool begin trouble where people/avatars are standing around with little to do, or talk about.|Female 'Viagra' declares to make sex much better for females. I'll post a short article weekly so please waiting to seeing a write-up. It's still prematurely to pass judgement, obviously-- all we understand about the item is exactly what we've seen from leakages But exactly what we've seen up until now points to a firm that has been learning a lot of the wrong lessons of late. I'd highly recommend having a few larger donors lined up to donate on the first couple days of the campaign as well, because no one wants to be the first to contribute.|Right here's a reality concerning sex that few individuals have told you - ladies usually take longer time to 'warm up' and get sexually excited compared to guys. Once they have actually attempted all-natural female enhancements they have actually been screaming for even more currently enjoying something they have never experienced. Having your consecutive world war champions memorial stuff is bound to obtain you into the exhilaration while you enjoy your flexibility. Guardian columnist John Harris states leaving the EU was indicated to be Thatcherism's ending, yet can become its fatality rather.|Valentine's Day is just around the bend, and whether you're commemorating extravagantly or keeping points subtle, there's an Indiegogo campaign in order to help make this year's holiday special. As she comes close to climax, the clitoris appears to withdraw to the pubic bone, so it can be more difficult to promote. We are seeing this in VR horror experiences like VRWERX's Paranormal Activity, where the customer could navigate the experience at their own speed, and also audio as well as music raise at specific minutes to frighten, include thriller or misdirect.|Normally people realize regarding only routine erogenous areas, that is factors on the body which trigger sex-related feelings, however there are numerous various other undiscovered factors in a woman's body which when touched boost sex-related sensations in her promptly. Through this campaign you may receive updates on Artipia Games' other upcoming projects. However the researchers dealing with immunotherapy have actually laid out in an entirely different direction, deceiving the body's own supports into dealing with the opponent cancer within. Checkers for example utilize their psychological abilities to efficiently finish a game of chess, while runners utilize their body's capability to overcome all-natural barriers like that of wind as well as gravity, or their own bodies' capacity to outrun itself.|Email outreach is a powerful method to develop early momentum for your Indiegogo campaign. Yet there's lots of individuals with millions of bucks who are still unfulfilled, unpassionate, worn out, or otherwise living a life they take pleasure in. Each capsule was constructed to range in order to suit the hyperloop tube, roughly half the size of the prospective end product. Backers at this level get 4 copies of the Dice and Danger Dragon's Lair Board Game. Our Final Day Stream was 1PM Eastern on Thursday, June 8. For every viewer, we reduced the last stretch goal - now $120,000!|Google for Business owner's Year in Evaluation 2012 Showcases Indiegogo! Get the deluxe version of Dice and Danger Dragon's Lair which includes a copy of the Atlas Kings Easy to Read, Easy to Play Tabletop RPG rulebook (sold on Amazon for $40), and all stretch goals met by this project. Golf is coming to be exceptionally prominent day by day and that's the reason increasingly more people aspire to grasp it. Learning to play golf without ideal golf tools is impossible.|Highlights: GE's FirstBuild is providing an expected $30,000 in prizes for victors of the Cold Mixture Style Difficulty FirstBuild launched 2 effective campaigns on Indiegogo in 2015, with over $3 million in sales: the Opal Nugget Ice Maker and also Paragon Induction Cooktop FirstBuild is an open area of lovers, designers, and also engineers that are changing ... read much more. I so appreciate seeing the expression on others deals with when something awesome, amazing, fun and even shocking occurs to them. Both offer excellent baseball ready a cheaper cost, in an extra kid-friendly atmosphere. We'll also be hosting a few Happiness Hours and Indiegogo Tech Cafe Hours, where you can come chat with our Indiegogo staff about your campaign, your experience or anything else you'd like to discuss!|Sony's IFA 2012 announcements were mostly concerning the larger photo, both in regards to the firm's One Sony technique as well as in the literal feeling that the Japanese giant showed off its initial 84-inch 4K TELEVISION Still, almost out of habit, Sony additionally refreshed its Android mobile phone schedule with a trio of new phones: the Xperia T/ TX, the Xperia V and also the Xperia J. If we think beyond the box for a moment; if we assume in greater dimensional means of seeing points, after that, what from a limited dimensional perspective could look like a course that goes all over the place, from an inter-dimensional viewpoint, or from a greater dimensional, trans-dimensional point of view, might really appear to be like a straight tunnel, directly right into the light, directly right into your goal, right right into your purpose, directly right into your theme, right into who you truly are.|Among the exhilaration surrounding Apple's new 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, the business silently got rid of among the long-lasting experts of its notebook schedule: the 17-inch MacBook Pro is no longer available. When we begin to associate those higher inspiring powers, when our psychological body's advice system bridges our physical being with our spirit being-- with our reality, our clearness, our true vision for our life, with real empowerment for our being and also our physical presence-- then our physical presence also starts to appear like that more non-linear means of being.|Nokia 808 PureView is a 41-megapixel Video camera Phone, However Hold Your Enjoyment. Highlights: GE's FirstBuild is offering an expected $30,000 in prizes for winners of the Cold Brew Design Challenge FirstBuild launched two successful campaigns on Indiegogo in 2015, with over $3 million in sales: the Opal Nugget Ice Maker and Paragon Induction Cooktop FirstBuild is an open community of engineers, designers, and enthusiasts who are changing … read more.|Part of the appeal of providing females oral sex remains in the large interest, strength and also excitement of cunnilingus, together with the terrific affection it brings to the sexual partnership you have with your female. Since this is a Spiel 2015 release, several customers and retailers may purchase the game from the fair which means they will get it before our group shipment goes out to backers. Now-a-days, it has come to be important to live a green way of living by using products which are not unsafe to atmosphere and also are recyclable or quickly recyclable. The problem with 3D makes is something that ought to especially fret you: The practice was outlawed from Kickstarter a while back, for an excellent factor: Without a functioning model, it's tough to understand exactly what you're backing, or how sensible it is for a project to provide on its guarantees.|Although each specific varies in how they delights in and responds to sexual stimulations, the American researchers W.H. Masters and also V.E. Johnson have determined 4 distinct physical phases that everyone, woman as well as male, goes through if they achieve climax. Please note that you will be requested to pay additional shipping costs since your order will have to be handled separately from our group shipping solution. The Hexagon digital signal processor in Qualcomm's Snapdragon 821 chip provides Google the bandwidth to record RAW imagery with absolutely no shutter lag from a continuous stream that starts when you open up the app.|Enjoyment can bring with it happiness and anxiety. We first needed to set our funding goal, based on what we would need to hit development milestones. If you're trying to find a location to chill out this weekend with your good friends or coworkers in order to de-stress on your own after a lengthy week at the workplace, search for a location where you can grab a beverage as well as enjoy it while enjoying among your favorite sporting activities.|Aside from Apple and also Samsung, no phone maker has mixed as much interest as well as exhilaration as the young OnePlus. If something does take place while you're appreciating the globe, a minimum of you're living! And you 'd be best - somewhere, someone is being activated today by points you never even considered. It is the peculiarity of the male sexual being that many points, so little understood, could be sexual stimulations. I talked to Marc Levoy, a prominent computer system graphics researcher that now leads a computational digital photography team at Google Study, concerning just how software helps make the Pixel camera comparable to it is.|Every female enjoys sex B, but not every woman actually gets to delight in the act. Adhere to New Horizons on Its Journey to Pluto and Beyond. I forecast that of the enjoyment among the public that is produced by this week's launches will certainly be less compared to that of a major, substantial, iPhone, Samsung, or now Google Pixel smart device launch. Last year, Dior appointed its first female creative Director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, who like Dior, believes that fantasy and functionalism, softness and tailoring can happily co-exist.|Make females thrilled to satisfy you the best ways to make a woman interested regarding you online. Regardless of how hectic the office is, if employees are miserable with the general feeling of the place they will show up busy yet will certainly not be productive. Tiziano Camporesi, head of the CMS group, has supplied colleagues 20:1 versus the bit's presence, with payment in bottles of good French wine. The inset home window shows exactly what New Horizons' collection of tools see (and which tools are presently active).|When you start a brand-new project your enjoyment might be apparent and you are full of enthusiasm to take action to accomplish your objective. Created in the year 1800, it was allocated to the Eurasians as a settlement as well as later handed over the Anglo area. It makes the prospect of going out to play in front of our supporters that much more enjoyable. And while it looks to be functionally as flexible and qualified as Google's Tango (check out some very early examples of fanciful trying outs ARKit ), its wider audience makes it far more attracting for significant programmers to spend their money and time into.|Tingle: Reappraising Pre-Performance Stress and anxiety as Excitement. Richard Lewis, the chief executive of the All England Grass Tennis Club, stated schedulers had been ruined for choice" but had actually decided to select the all-time greats" of the males's Big 4" and the five-time champion Williams. In a series of cutting remarks the EU Council president said reaching an agreement between the two parties would be difficult enough" as it is without leaders on both sides throwing wild accusations at each other.|, if you are like lots of couples over a duration of time the enjoyment leaves your relationship and you look at each various other as well as wonder exactly what happen. Yet it does require time, decision and also mental stamina to reach these objectives. The neurobiology of exhilaration does not assist me convey the feelings to others. Consequently, Sony pregius technology usually supplies the electronic electronic camera sensing unit having terrific high resolution as well as various valuable attributes along with numerous years of knowledge and also experience. Within 10 to 30 secs of coming to be sexually thrilled, the majority of men will have an erection as blood flows right into the squishy cells (the corpus cavernosa) of the shaft of the penis. Although usually associated stow away manlike sex additionally male preferences, manliness might besides show a sex-related picture although the target and causation would certainly be unlike. Brian Regal, a professor of history at Kean University, might know ways to explain it. In spite of's assertion that for centuries, countless witnesses" have actually asserted to see an odd, winged animal", Regal informed the Guardian that real tale of the Jersey Evil one in fact involves a slightly occult" almanac manufacturer that was despised for siding with the British realm, his kid, an opponent of Benjamin Franklin, and also some entrepreneurs who just weren't from Jersey at all. One copy of Oliver the Accessory distributed to a kids's healthcare facility in your name. When I was a medical student, a child I was caring for died of leukemia, which drew me to treating children with cancer. In the 2011 film Hysteria, Hugh Dancy plays a real Victorian medical professional called Mortimer Granville, who transforms his 1880s creation of a muscle massage device right into a sexual awakening for his female patients. There are lots of stakeholders in the Swimmo task, among them are backers, which we are one of the most thankful to, due to the fact that you were the pressure to begin this business as well as shared our enthusiasm regarding swimming tracking from the first day of this Kickstarter campaign. Paperback publication is offered at $15.95 each copy plus shipping. X Prize Pledges $15M for Software program That Allows Kid Instruct Themselves. It was constantly interested for Mann, whose electronic photography masterfully catches the appeal of normal worldwide workplace facilities and also midtown clubs, making a movie concerning computer systems. The campaign for a referendum on Britain's future relationship with Europe has come about after mounting concerns over the debt crisis in the EU. Eurosceptics argue that the UK would be better off out of the EU, while others say membership has brought us many benefits. In Virtual Reality, the user could make decisions that impact the story and select where to want to the point they could miss out on crucial tale elements. For programmers, there's a host of Microsoft as well as partner services, tools, and also libraries to earn developing global apps robust, and app creation easy. Indiegogo has developed into an ideal testing ground for products that appeal to the early adopter market. For this a woman likewise could understand the time of orgasm and also hence the process in which she will certainly more than happy with her love partner will certainly be recognized. Attempting to break the football and also locate a receiver down field, or obstructing the goal from the incoming hockey puck, this experience provides you a preference of exactly how wonderful the future of the classes of Madden NFL, FIFA, NBA or NHL type sports games will be in Virtual Reality. Drawlab also manufactures miniatures and special components from plastic and metal, ensuring the best quality for all gamers to enjoy, being responsible for the boardgame Spells of Doom and the Legendary Metal Coins project. Ideal Sri Lanka Coastline Tours Fancy on your own going on a magical boat flight preceeding the crystal blue water of the ocean, well this dream like state is something that can come true as you take pleasure in a magical Sri Lanka coastline vacation. The strategy mode after that boosts dopamine activity, which focuses your attention and also develops you mentally; that biochemical increase consequently develops your efficiency in mathematics, vocal singing, public talking-- or, indeed, golf. The campaign card is what shows up on Indiegogo's homepage and category pages, so it's a great opportunity to make a memorable first impression.