Go grab Ark: Survival Evolved for free on Steam before June 19 at 10AM PDT. Studio Wildcard just released a free new map to the game and also made some announcements on the official website (see link below). The embedded trailer contains the map's announcement, but there are other videos on the YouTube channel that also provide info about it and the new exclusive creatures to the map.

I haven't gotten into the game yet and I don't want to get into details. I just want this to be a quick announcement. If you're interested in reading about the new map, Ark 2 (next year) and the Animated Series (which has a full cast of very well known actors), check the link below.

Get the game: https://store.steampowered.com/app/346110/ARK_Survival_Evolved/

Official news source: https://survivetheark.com/index.php?/articles.html/redefining-the-survival-genre-with-ark-2-and-an-update-from-our-studio-founders-r1949/

I cannot pass up writing this post! The trailer is so awesome! If you're familiar with the classic Munsters TV show, this trailer will probably greatly impress you, too! It doesn't even matter if you don't know who Rob Zombie is! (I'm a fan of the music, but not interested in the horror movies. I like the Zombie family, but I don't like zombies, except for Zombie Dr. Strange.)

Rock legend and horror film aficionado Rob Zombie said he's been chasing this project for 20 years. At first, I was concerned, knowing how much Rob Zombie loves horror movies and I do not. I was not expecting to be so greatly impressed! It's not like a scary horror movie, it's pretty much exactly like the show, but in "living color!" I should have realized an avid fan of the show, as Rob Zombie is, wouldn't butcher it into something it wasn't.

I love everything about this trailer! The actors do such an impressive job! They've clearly captured the essence and mannerisms of the characters and actors we're so familiar with. Uncle Herman acts just like he did back in the 60's, for example. This truly impressed me! The costumes are also very similar and wonderful. Of course there's the awesome "Munsters theme" music, too! (I think I'm gonna have to watch this again!)

What do you think about this? Are you also a Zombie fan? Are you a fan of the original show? Did you see the one released in the late 80's? (I didn't know about it until I saw it at the end of the article.) Are you planning to see this? Let me know!

Source: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/rob-zombies-the-munsters-film-gets-first-teaser-trailer/1100-6504308/

Do you smell what the....Black Adam.... is cooking, jabroni?! The trailer for Black Adam is now live and the movie hits theaters on 10/21/22!

Black Adam is (obviously) played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. I don't know anything about this character other than what's in the trailer. I love the line where he says he died as a slave and was reborn a god! Another line I like is that super heroes "don't kill people," to which Black Adam replies, "I do!"

I'm looking forward to this mostly because I love comic book content coming to live action, even if it's something I know nothing about. Also even though I'm much more obsessed with and aware of Marvel than DC. The Rock is my favorite wrestler. He was so..."electrifying." I'm glad he's still acting. (Did you know it's been suggested that he, Dwayne Johnson, should run for president? I think he said he was considering it.)

What do you think about this? Are you aware of Black Adam? Would you like to share something about him? Are you going to go see this? I think it's likely I'll go.

A news source I found: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/black-adam-trailer-arrives-dwayne-johnson-catches-a-rocket/1100-6504283/

Here's an official article: https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/the-wild-update-here You can also check out this GameSpot article: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-1-19-the-wilds-update-full-details-on-new-content/1100-6504062/

Before I get started, there are three videos on the Minecraft YouTube channel that do a cool job of showing off the new content. It was difficult to choose which to embed, so chose the one I liked best. It’s more natural and includes some content from the previous update. The first one showcases the Deep Dark biome, new sculk blocks, and the Warden. Check it out: https://youtu.be/chuRE9nxLT4 This next one does a good job at giving an overall view of the new content. Check it out here: https://youtu.be/GXr5glhGkzE

What’s new?

If you’re looking for new Minecraft content to explore then you’re in luck! Minecraft just received it’s “Wild Update.” I’m going to get into details, but there are two new biomes (Mangrove swamps and Deep Dark). The latter can be found in caves. There are four new mobs including the scary Warden, the cute and helpful Allay, frogs, and tadpoles (because you can’t have frogs without tadpoles nor tadpoles without frogs). There are some new blocks including “sculk” blocks that detect vibration and summon the Warden. There’s also mud! (Cue Primus.)

Beware though and make sure you’ve managed your expectations! Minecraft Live mentioned content for the Caves and Cliffs Update (both parts including this one) that unfortunately didn’t make it into the game. This has seemingly caused a lot of players to express disappointment and unhappiness with this update, calling it the “Mild Update.” Xisumavoid has a great video discussing the issue. Check it out here: https://youtu.be/YAMHqVL9Gfs Ultimately, we should be grateful we’re constantly getting free new Minecraft content. The game just keeps getting better all the time!

The Deep Dark (https://minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Deep_Dark) is perhaps the most scary biome in Minecraft now. It is very dark and contains sculk blocks, which are sensitive to vibration. (These blocks are also redstone active.) This includes eating, walking, equipping/unequipping gear, and many other actions. If you’re close enough to them and they detect vibration, they’ll summon the Warden. One way to avoid detection is to put a block of wool between you and the block or walk on carpet. You’ll find some in the Ancient City.

The Warden (https://minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Warden) is perhaps the most scary mob in Minecraft now. When summoned, it will rise from under the ground and cause a “darkness” status effect, which darkens everything. This is definitely not an ideal status effect to get in this already dark biome. It is blind, but sensitive to vibration like the sculk blocks. It has a lot of health and can’t be easily killed. It can kill you in one or two hits even with the toughest armor! It has both a melee and a ranged attack! One way to avoid detection is to sneak (crouch). There’s a new enchantment that allows you to walk faster while sneaking. One place you can find these is in treasure chests located within a new structure called an Ancient City (https://minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Ancient_City). This structure is very large, kind of like a Nether Fortress. You’ll find yourself alone without any mobs nearby. Don’t let that give you a false sense of security. Sculk blocks are active and difficult to avoid.

Another good tip for the Warden is to misdirect it by throwing something in the opposite direction, replacing it’s attention. I believe I heard that this is why you’ll find snow balls in chests in the Ancient City.

The Allay (https://minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Allay) is a new adorable, friendly mob voted into the game. It looks like a blue fairy. You’ll find these unfortunately locked up in Illager encampments and in cells in the Ancient City. They are always looking for a player and are really good at staying close by. They can sometimes annoyingly get in the way, too, which is something the devs have worked to correct. They’re also very capable of returning to the player even after being separated by a large distance.

The Allay is helpful. Giving it an item is the same as telling it “go find this item and bring me back all that you can,” because that’s how it acts. It can carry multiples of an item instead of bringing you one at a time. However, it can only do this for one specific item. For example, if you give it an egg, it will only collect eggs. It can’t collect eggs and feathers at the same time. To take an item from them, do so with an empty hand. They also like music boxes, so if you have one playing, they’ll look for items around them and drop items at them. I haven’t played with them yet, but I realized how I can benefit from them.

In my 1.18 world, I had livestock pens (as always). At first the animals stood on dirt, but I removed the surface layer of dirt and replaced it with hoppers. The fence stands on top of the same layer of dirt, so I removed two dirt blocks under the fence (remember a large chest is two blocks wide). So, there are a couple of fence posts sitting on top of a chest. Whenever I killed something or sheared a sheep for wool, the drops went into one of the hoppers. The hoppers pushed the item into the chest. Then, I can access the chest without entering the pen. It’s not a perfect system, because sometimes drops don’t make it into the hopper. It’s also a lot of work and that’s a lot iron to collect!

You know what would make this process much simpler? An Allay! With an Allay, I can forget about removing dirt and adding hoppers and a chest. If I want to collect eggs, for instance, I can just give one to my Allay and it will bring them to me. I could also set up a music box in a chicken pen so that it’s attracted to the area where it will find eggs. I could get separate Allays for each drop I want (feathers, steak, pork, chicken, etc.). I’m looking forward to getting an Allay. I’m just afraid of losing it, because I "/tp" often. I found them in my snapshot world, but haven’t gone to rescue them yet.

Mangrove swamps are another new biome. Minecraft Live showed them off with frogs, tadpoles, and fireflies. During Minecraft Live, frogs ate fireflies. Unfortunately, they were removed since some of them are poisonous to frogs IRL. This is unfortunate, because they added some nice ambiance. Just as xisumavoid said, frogs don’t have to eat them! Removing the ability for parrots to eat chocolate was good, because you don’t want to influence someone to feed a parrot chocolate IRL, because it’s toxic to them. So, parrots eat grass seeds instead of chocolate now.

Since you can’t have frogs without tadpoles (https://minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Tadpole) or tadpoles without frogs, both are now in the game. Tadpoles become frogs which are colored differently depending on the temperature of the biome they’re from. There is a list of biomes on the wiki grouped into three different categories; “temperate,” “cold,” and “warm.” (See wiki entry at: https://minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Frog) One example is that tadpoles in a cold biome will become green frogs.

There are also new blocks of light call “froglights” (https://minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Froglight). Instead of fireflies, frogs eat slime mobs if the slimes are small enough. They’ll drop slime balls when they eat them. To get froglights, you have to take a frog into the Nether and get it to eat magma cubes. Each of the three lights can be created by each of the three different colored frogs. I think getting these sounds complicated. Of course, I’m possibly biased since there’s no blue froglight. 😭

It is my opinion that mangrove swamps are difficult to traverse, especially because of the very large roots of mangrove trees. There’s lots of water and lots of mangrove trees, which are very tall. That’s about it, really. However, mangrove trees are grown from propagules, looking like elongated seeds. They can be seen growing on mangrove trees. They can be planted on both dirt and in water, unlike every other tree.

Some of the land you see in mangrove swamps is made from the new mud blocks (https://minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Mud). You slip a couple pixels down into them while walking on them, but they won’t slow you down. You can find them here or create them by using a filled water bottle on a block of dirt. Remember the drip stone that was introduced in the previous update? If you put one on the bottom of a mud block, the mud will eventually turn into clay.

What’s missing? It’s unfortunate that this question has an answer, because the last update did as well. In fact it was the last update’s answer to that question that created this update. Yes, the Caves and Cliffs update was separated into two parts and there’s unfortunately some content that didn’t make it.

Bundles are probably the one I’m most disappointed in not getting. Crafted from rabbit hide, they are able to store stacks of multiple items, which are self contained as one item, the bundle. A bundle pretty much turns a single inventory slot into one that contains stacks of multiple items. I often have a full inventory and bundles would be very helpful! However they haven't made it into the game yet, because they haven’t found a way to get them to work properly with Minecraft’s Pocket Edition. The devs are taking version parity very seriously. What I mean is that they are doing their best to reduce or remove the differences between versions. So the game should be exactly the same with the same content no matter which version you play.

I already mentioned fireflies, which is again disappointing. At the last Minecraft Live, we were also shown concept art for birch forests. They even spent a few minutes talking about it. I didn’t realize it was something players wanted. I hadn’t even though about it. Ultimately the devs pretty much stated that “concept art” does not reflect a content “promise.” Thus we need to manage our expectations.

The devs need to also help by making it clear that while all content is intended, it may not end up in the game. Either that or they need to show us content that’s pretty much guaranteed to be added, things that have already been developed or very close to being finished, instead of showcasing concepts.

Are you interested in this update? What do you like most? What do you think it all?

I made an effort to make this post more readable, which is something I'd like to do more, so that my posts aren't just a boring collection of paragraphs. What do you think of the formatting style I gave this post? Do you like it? Does it make it look more readable? Are there any suggestions you'd like to share about how you'd like to see posts formatted and styled? I was really impressed with Jon's last post and I know readability is important (I don't want to read long boring paragraphs either). Let me know!

We're hours away from the double Obi-Wan premier and we now have a trailer for the next Star Wars show streaming on Disney+; Andor on August 31. It's been a while since I've watched Rogue One, but I really enjoyed it. I thought it would be best to just copy the description from YouTube and paste it here:

"The “Andor” series will explore a new perspective from the Star Wars galaxy, focusing on Cassian Andor’s journey to discover the difference he can make. The series brings forward the tale of the burgeoning rebellion against the Empire and how people and planets became involved. It’s an era filled with danger, deception and intrigue where Cassian will embark on the path that is destined to turn him into a rebel hero.

Diego Luna returns as Cassian Andor and is joined by cast members Genevieve O’Reilly, Stellan Skarsgård, Adria Arjona, Denise Gough and Kyle Soller. The executive producers are Kathleen Kennedy, Sanne Wohlenberg, Diego Luna and Michelle Rejwan. Tony Gilroy is the creator and showrunner."

I recognized a few faces, one of them was Stellan Skarsgård. I watched Chernobyl recently, which he had a good part in. I heard the first two episodes will premier the same day, as it is with Obi-Wan and there will be 12 episodes.

What do you think? Are you looking forward to it?

She-Hulk: Attorney At Law has it's new trailer and Disney+ release date (August 17th). I'm looking forward to it. She-Hulk isn't a character I'm very familiar with and Disney+ shows don't disappoint me. The MCU's Hulk and Abomination make their appearances as well.

Ms. Marvel premiers on Disney+ on June 8th. She's another character I'm not too familiar with, but I got to know better with the Avengers video game.

Let me know what you think about this! What do you think of her? Do you know much about her you want to share?

News source: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/she-hulk-attorney-at-law-gets-first-trailer-release-date/1100-6503563/

It's been almost a full month since Marvel released it's Thor: Love and Thunder trailer and it looks awesome. It's apparently taking some inspiration from the Might Thor comics in which Jane Foster becomes Thor. I haven't read them yet, but looking forward to it.

Who else is looking forward to this? What do you think?

I’m kind of surprised at the Steam reviews for Chrono Cross: Radical Dreamers Edition. I recently finished the game and decided I wanted to give those “mixed” Steam reviews a bit of positivity. (I posted a smaller review there, but wanted to write this out here.)

This is one of those HD remasters, although only 3D models were given the HD treatment, so backgrounds do look horrible since our eyes are now so overwhelmed with beauty and impressive graphics these days. However, what a game looks like, even if it’s aged 20 years, doesn’t make or break it.

Chrono Cross was a JRPG that came out in 1999. It is apparently one of the best RPGs ever according to some things I’m reading. I played through it only one time, but I remember that I really enjoyed it. That’s why I was glad it was getting the HD treatment and coming to Steam. You’ve probably heard of Chrono Trigger, well Chrono Cross is it’s sequel. I’d say the two can be thought of as completely separate as different as they are, but they also have similarities.

Chrono Cross, like pretty much all RPGs, has it’s own ways of doing things. For instance, there is magic in the game, but they’re called “elements.” There’s a circle in the upper left hand corner. It contains two other circles. These circles contain colors of the elements used. So, if you use a blue element like “Cure,” the innermost part of the circle will turn blue. The next element will push that blue to the next ring. This repeats until that first color disappears. If you want to use a summon, you have to get the entire circle of circles all one color. So, you’ll probably have to use some elements to get the field the color you need it, but enemy element usage also affects the circle. Items are use like elements, too. You’re limited by how many elements you can use in battle. This limitation is based on your element tech levels, which will grow as you do as you gain experience.

Otherwise, it’s just as familiar as all other great RPGs. You walk around an open world, talking to NPCs, recruiting characters to your party, exploring the world, and getting through the story. It’s very good though, I think. So, if you enjoyed Chrono Cross, I recommend getting this. It’s only $20. It has some extra features, too. You can press a button to speed up the action or another to make your party pretty much invincible.

The “Radical Dreamers” part of the title escaped me, because I was not aware of what it referred to, but I learned. It’s a text-based game based on the game, but as a bit of a prequel. I played it and died. It was interesting.

Steam users are complaining about the fact that sometimes the FPS is surprisingly not smooth. This isn’t an irrational complaint as you’d expect something like this to be smooth especially on today’s PCs. I did notice the issue, but it was so infrequent and lasted so briefly that I deem it as insignificant. It didn’t affect my enjoyment of the game.

After finishing the game, I found New Game+ and Continue+. The latter is confusing. Basically, Continue+ lets you take data from your completed game and put it into a regular save file. So, it won’t work with a New Game+ save. It’s supposed to help you get all the characters. I had trouble figuring it out at first, but I eventually understood.

I tried to replay Chrono Trigger after this, but it was too difficult and I gave up. LOL

Let me know what you think about this. Have you tried it? Do you know about or like Chrono Cross?

Bethesda.Net is going down on May 11th, however you can transfer all your games to Steam. It's easy to do and I'm including links for the instructions to do so. At one point it will also allow you to transfer some of your saved game data. Just click on the provided links.

Instructions: https://bethesda.net/en/account/transfer-library

Saved data transfer FAQ: https://help.bethesda.net/#en/answer/55036

Source:
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/heres-how-to-transfer-your-bethesda-launcher-games-to-steam/1100-6502864/

I reported earlier that Far Cry 6 (the latest in the series released last year) had a Free-To-Play Weekend going on. I knew about Far Cry 6 before it was released. I had some interest in it, but perhaps the most interesting thing to me is that the villain is portrayed by Giancarlo Esposito. If that name doesn’t sound familiar then perhaps “Moff Giddeon” will (if you’ve seen The Mandalorian). I realize Moff Gideon isn’t his only role, but that is the only role I saw him in (before this game). His performance was outstanding!

The character looks just like Esposito. Something that incredibly impresses me is that he speaks very well with a Spanish accent. He isn’t of Spanish heritage, though. He is the son of an “African-American opera singer and an Italian carpenter” (according to a Google search). I read that he learned how to speak his lines, but isn’t fluent in Spanish. I find it amazing when actors can portray an accent that isn’t their own. Great examples of this are Tom Holland, Charlie Cox, and Hugh Jackman. Hearing them speak with their native accent is a shocker.

As for my Far Cry experience, I’ve only played through Far Cry Primal and I enjoyed it. I tried Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. I played very little of it because I just wasn’t into it. I later tried Far Cry 3, but I gave up after running out of ammo. This isn’t a problem in Far Cry 6, because you can refill your ammo by accessing the trunk of whatever car you’re driving. I plan to try Far Cry 3 again. I got it for free and I know it’s very popular.

Far Cry 6 seems to have many elements that are in every Far Cry game. It’s kind of an RPG as you gain experience and level (or rather “rank”) up. This gives you access to more weapons and things. Being an open-world game means that there are plenty of places to explore with plenty to do. Movement (or perhaps camera movement) is also one of those elements. It’s hard to explain, but to me it’s a unique thing I’ve seen in this series.

I’m disappointed that the free weekend is over. I was really enjoying it. It’s currently on sale for 50% off until the end of the month. Use the promo code "FRESH15" at checkout to get an extra 25% off. I bought the Gold Edition, which pretty much just contains the game and it's season pass. It was originally $100, but with the current sale and promo code I got it for almost $43.

The country this story takes place in is a fictional place called “Yara” and it’s real-life counterpart is Cuba. The country has been isolated from the rest of the world for 20 years since the execution of Presidente Antón Castillo’s father. Afterwards Antón Castillo was elected, but he’s running the country as a tyrannical fascist dictatorship. He’s has a blockade around the island so escape is pretty much impossible. He indiscriminately executes resistance and insubordinate citizens. He enslaves his people to work in tobacco fields. Proudly and on it’s own, the government has created a chemical called Vivrio, which is sprayed onto the tobacco fields. It’s supposedly the “cure for cancer,” but the people who work these fields end up getting sick (cancer?).

You play as Dani Rojas. When you start the game and get passed the cut scenes, you’ll be given the binary choice to choose your gender. Dani is trying to escape with others by boat, but they don’t get to leave as Castillo makes a surprise visit. His 13 year-old son, Diego, happens to be on the boat. He is grooming his son to take his place when he is gone, but Diego obviously isn’t enthusiastic about it. Dani’s the only one to make it out alive.

After escaping, Dani ends up on one of the country’s islands and joins a resistance called “Libertad.” Dani then has to go around the country to recruit resistant members and help support other resistance groups in the area. There are some great characters, but if “adult” language isn’t for you, then you might not want to play this. I like it, though.

The game reminds me of so many others that I’m not sure if I’ll remember all of them in this list I want to share with you. Driving around reminds me of Final Fantasy XV. The game also reminds me of the Batman: Arkham series. You could easily compare it to other open-world games though. Oddly, the loading screen reminds me of DOOM or DOOM Eternal.

I can’t speak much of other Far Cry games, but one thing I really enjoyed about Far Cry Primal was the ability to tame some animals and have them for support. This is also a feature in Far Cry 6, called “amigos.” During my 18 hours of game play I unlocked two of them, a crocodile, “Guapo,” and a dog named “Chorizo.” I continued to use Guapo, because I found it the most useful. It can heal itself during a fight or self-revive apparently. Amigos don’t permanently die. Instead the game tells you it’s “down” and you need to go to it to revive it, just as you would for teammates in co-op mode, which is similar to other games. Eventually it will revive, but this may be a specific ability for Guapo. You can command your amigo to go up to an enemy and do something, which is different for each amigo. Guapo will attack. Chorizo will distract enemies making it easier for you to sneak up for a silent takedown. Chorizo appears to be missing his hind legs and thus has a doggy wheel chair to help him get around. It’s adorable and can also find items for you.

You’ll find multiple items around the country. Some of these are materials you’ll see out in the open, like gasoline or metal scrap. There are also multiple containers around the country. Some of these containers will also give you weapons. As for weapons, there are a lot of them and a lot of types. There are pistols, rifles, rocket launchers, shot guns, bows, and more. Each weapon has slots for “mods,” which allow you to add something to the them such as a silencer or better scope. There are many options and you’re going to need materials to add these at a workbench, which you can find in camps.

One really interesting weapon is called the “Supremo.” You get this early in the game. It’s pretty much a very special backpack. The first one you get is basically a rocket launcher. It has a gauge that refills when you kill enemies, so it’s not always available, but it’s very helpful! You can use it to take out multiple enemies or even a helicopter (which is the best way to do this without a separate rocket launcher). There are upgrades and different ones that provide different abilities, although I only unlocked the first one. They also allow you to carry four other things like Molotov cocktails, baseballs (for distraction), EMP grenades, and more.

Some add-on content includes some kind of Stranger Things mash-up, but I’ve never seen that show, and it doesn’t seem to be something I’m interested in. There’s a Rambo misson, too. And, to almost no surprise, Danny Trejo also makes an appearance. I didn’t see him, I was given the mission, but didn’t follow it. It’s funny talking to the guy about Danny as they talk about his different roles, including the one that I first saw him play as Navajas in the movie “Desperado.” (BTW if you haven’t seen this movie from ‘95, I strongly recommend it. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen it. I saw it on the “big screen” and I think I still own the VHS. It's only the second part of a trilogy, though.)

There are three different levels of difficulty and I chose Story Mode, because I like things to be easy (I get easily frustrated with difficulty). I think this is a game I’m interested in and I’d recommend it if you’re a fan of the series. If you’re unfamiliar with the series, it seems like a good choice to jump in and check it out.

Be sure to check out the embedded video if you’re interested. It’s called an “overview trailer” and it’s nearly 7 minutes long, but definitely worth watching.

What do you think about this? Is it something you’re interested in? Have you played other Far Cry games? Lemme know!