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Vry takes a whirl in the new Platinum Demo of Final Fantasy XV and plays around with the prettiest coma he's had the pleasure of playing through.
Some may be aware of the recent kerfluffle involving James Rolfe aka The Angry Video Game Nerd posting a video that quickly rose to infamy across the net where he spoke out about how he refused to watch the new Ghostbusters film. The reaction to the video has been mixed and draw heat from many different sides. I've seen people calling James 'sexist' for not backing the new all-female cast, I've seen others stand by him and pledging their support to help him weather the onslaughts of "Feminists and SJWs", and I've mostly seen people chiming in with a just a simple "Is this really what all the huff is about?" And that's the interesting thought to me. Why is this such a big deal? A guy can just have opinions right? Of course. But how one voices their opinion can sometimes be an opinion in itself.
Let me first say that I am in no way condemning anyone with this post. This issue was already a massive clash of a growing cultural divide in nerd culture that predates the announcement of this film's production. This video was much like that one offhand comment made on a day time talk show that sends the just starting to calm down guests right back in the heat. James doesn't want to see one of his favorite movies rebooted. That's fine. We've all been there with something. Especially geeks and nerds. I know I pretty much stopped seeing the Transformers movies after the first one. I know a lot of people who didn't want to touch the newest Ninja Turtles or even the 2003 TMNT movie for pretty much the same reasons. The issue comes from the fact that this movie already had a ton of heat associated with it due to the number of voices decrying it because the cast is female becoming mingled with the voice of people who just aren't interested, and nothing ever stays simple when gender politics enters the picture. Likewise, I don't think the gender flip is a bad thing. I'd like to see it done more often – especially with reboots. Explore another side to things. After all, what good is a reboot if you don't try to do SOMETHING different with it? It might not work, but that's true with anything. I don't know if anyone would have wanted to see a shot for shot remake of the Original Ghostbusters either. But the gender issues being brought to the fore front by this remake are a discussion worth having. A lot of ugliness has been brought to bare in the wake of this movie's announcement and trailers. And everyone who has a personal stake one way or the other in the fight are pretty much coming to this movie with all or nothing mindsets. We win or we die.
So perhaps it was a wider view of the landscape that James lacked when making his video. After all, all the video says is that he is going to do a "non review" because he refuses to see it. And why couldn't they do a 'good reboot' like the Star Trek movies (a subjective comparison if I ever saw one) along with the feelings of how he wasn't wow'ed by the trailer and all the cgi looks dumb. So what's wrong with that? Why am I even writing this? I can only speak to my problem with the video, one that I have spent several days thinking about what bothered me about it, and say that I honestly think it's the way he said it. If it had been made as an offhand comment on Twitter in reply to people wondering if he was going to review it, I don't think this would have been a big deal. But this was a 6 minute video: lighting, camera, editing, visual effects, the whole thing – not just to say but to ANNOUNCE that you are REFUSING to see and review a new movie, on your YouTube channel that is mostly video games and classic horror movies. Oh sure, there's a few vlogs, but I don't think that's what your channel is known for. Just like I don't need to produce a 5 minute video to tell people that I don't much care for the new menu numbers are McDonald's when everything else on my channel is a Let's Play.
Also, 'refuse' is a strong word. Refuse usually implies a command or a request that you are not willing to do. If you were working for a paper, and they were sending you to see the movie, then you might refuse. But no one is telling James to go see it. In fact, everything else he describes is just that he doesn't want to. A personal preference. But the use of the word Refuse in combination with producing an entire video about said refusal, makes it come off like you are taking a stand, protesting, or just straight choosing to be a martyr for the cause of not seeing this film. Which is a bit over dramatic, and I can't say that is what James intended with this. He probably just wanted to voice his opinion, but the problem there is when you are a public figure – and we cannot deny the importance of the AVGN character or James Rolfe's contribution to the internet media we have today – that how you say something can doom you. Especially since this wasn't a VLOG off the cuff thing but a produced & edited video. There was time and thought put into this. So it's not like you don't have the opportunity to think about the intent.
I imagine that might be what upset some people about this, why others don't think it's a big deal, and why others are throwing their unwavering support behind it. Because through it's language, design, and intent it can be all of those things and probably none of them as well. Am I saying James shouldn't have made the video? No. He has an opinion and his channel is his to say what he wishes on it. But given his choices when making and releasing the video, there was going to be a volatile reaction. Given his years doing 'The Nerd' I'm sure James is not stranger to all kinds of volatile reactions. I also don't think any kind of volatile reaction (barring threats of bodily harm and any illegal act) should be silenced either. I just wanted to examine exactly why this whole thing even happened, really. Goodness knows James' ad revenue with YouTube probably just peaked for the year.
Oh and as for MY thoughts on the new Ghostbusters? Looks interesting. Reminds more of the cartoon than the movies. Not a bad thing. Will probably check it out and maybe do a write up if I have something worthwhile to say.
Final Thought: Just… don't go into the YouTube comments on these things. That should be common knowledge for any Netizen, but I felt in this case it beared repeating. Seriously. Don't.
Oh. Oh sweet merciful fal'Cie. What the hell did I watch? My fiance and I went to the Alamo Drafthouse to see the Funimation Films presentation of 'Empire of Corpses'. A title that sounded quite promising. In fact, the whole idea was quite promising. A world where Victor Frankenstein's experiment gave rise to an entire society built on and around essentially zombie slaves powered by steampunk-style "NecroWare" that program the reanimated corpses for a variety of tasks from simple clerical jobs, to military deployment. Doesn't that sound awesome? Doesn't that seem like there are a ton of cool stories to tell in a world like that? I bet you've already thought of some. And I also bet that they are WAY more interesting than anything this movie does with the premise. /sigh
The film comes to us from the works of the late Project Itoh (real name Satoshi Itoh) whose death in 2009 inspired the creation of a trilogy of animated films based on his science-fiction novels. The last of which, published posthumously, was Empire of Corpses in 2012. The trilogy of films will also feature "Harmony", based on the novel of the same name that was given a special citation by the Phillip K Dick Award and will be shown state-side in late May, and "Genocide Organ" which currently stands as yet to be completed. But surely with a stack of awards including a special citation from the Phillip K Dick Awards (a special citation being code for 'throwing you a bone without actually winning'), surely the story will be an immensely riveting tale? Won't it? Well, how should I begin?
The Characters
The film begins with medical student John Watson (Yes, THAT John Watson) resurrecting his dead best friend as a living corpse that he names Friday (Not that Friday, but close) who he trains to be his servant, bodyguard, and to write down everything he sees and hears in a journal. He is recruited by 'M' the head of British secret intelligence who has a secretary named Moneypenny and teamed with a famed British soldier named Burnaby to go to Afghanistan (under the fake cover of being a field surgeon) to find a rogue Russian scientist Alexei Karamazov who is supposedly in possession of Victor Frankenstein's notes on how to create a living corpse that has a soul like he did with "The One". Along the way Watson meets up with other characters like former president Ulysses S. Grant, Thomas Edison, and Hadaly Lilith (who later renames herself Irene Adler).
If you haven't gathered from the copious amounts of links in that last paragraph, there isn't a single character that is based on, inspired by, or flat out IS, some sort of fictional or real historic person. The only person who possibly escapes this fate is Friday whose name draws inspiration from Robinson Crusoe but that where the similarities end. This is mostly because we are told next to nothing about who Friday was in life beyond being John Watson's best friend and potential lover (never confirmed, but there's more than enough evidence to have that interpretation of their relationship) and that Friday was exceptional interested in Corpse Reanimation that he built an illegal lab to conduct NecroWare experiments in and then bequethed it Watson under the explicit details to 'desecrate his grave' and to bring him back to life.
Beyond that the characterization is all over the map. Burnaby is fiercely devoted to bringing back the notes of Victor Frankenstein because that's the mission for queen and country and all that, until the veteran soldier sees another spy that he had grown close to (via minute long montage) die and be ressurected that he immediately makes it his life goal to see the notes completely destroyed. Almost every character in a cast of a dozen is given at least one big plot twist/betrayal/reveal through the course of the movie, to the point where you almost need a chart to keep it all straight.
The Story (Spoilers Ahead!)
The first half of the movie is an entirely different beast than the second half. The first half is the pursuit of Victor Frankenstein's notes. It tackles a lot of questions that you've probably already seen done and done better in things like Fullmetal Alchemist. Is knowledge for the sake of knowledge an end that justifies any mean? Where is the moral line when it comes to science and knowledge (Especially in a world where reanimating the dead to become waiters, butlers, soldiers, etc to do the bidding of the living is standard practice). The pursuit has Watson, Friday, Burnaby, and the Russian Spy Nikolai Krasotkin pursuing Karamazov in the high hills of… somewhere? They start in Afghanistan and end up in what looks like Tibet. On foot. Anyway, Karamazov has perfected a new form of living corpse that has problem solving skills, faster reaction time, and near living intellect (Watson tortures one into almost speaking at one point – because Watson's leading theory is that language is only possible with a soul. Also that a soul weights 23 grams that vanishes from your body when you die.) They find Karamazov in a scene that is eerily familiar to Apocalypse Now when they first find the encampment of Colonel Kurtz, and have a nice meal with him where they discuss philosophy and whatnot. Then they find out the secret of Karamazov's new zombies: He isn't resurrecting the dead. He's killing the living. By putting a living person in a trance with music and opium then ripping into their spinal cord and programming them with NecroWare, you create a far more capable undead. Karamazov says Frakenstein's notes are in Japan, Burnaby is horrified, Watson wonders why Karamazov is such a wussy that he didn't keep experimenting on the subjects to find the truth of the soul (He's apparently done this murder procedure to an entire village at this point). Then to… uh… prove a point I guess? Karamazov turns himself into a zombie. Awkward. You honestly could have made this the whole movie in a big send up to Apocalypse Now/Heart of Darkness. The isolated village of the dead, stretch out the mystery of the secret of how to make the new zombies, big reveal at the end with a realization that some costs are too high. The end. Good flick. But no, it keeps going. Clearly we're building up to something big. Oh well, off to Japan.
The Japan 'chapter' is fairly short. They meet another historical figure, they find out what lab the notes are being kept in, and they break in. Inside they find engineered zombies that can carry diseases like cholera as biological weapons. This matches something earlier in the movie where there are exploding zombies that are engineered to break down their own body fat into glycerin so they explode. Again, another neat idea. Zombie arms race. Would explain the need for the notes. But no, that's not where this is going either. Watson finds the notes, but instead of destroying them he has Friday analyze them (Because Zombies are also computers that can break electronic locks and crap) Because at the end of the Japan chapter, we get zombies going on a rampage, the lab in flames, Watson almost dead and the notes being stolen by none other than "The One" aka Frankenstein's Monster.
This is where the plot completely goes off the rails, so let me bottom line some of the weirdness that transpires for the next 45 minutes. The One is making zombies go insane using massive analytical computers built out of human brains in various cities while 'looking for something' before he is captured by 'M' so that M who is now a bad guy for some reason can create his perfect utopia of everyone being a zombie so there will be no war. Watson does more experiments on Friday, Friday goes insane and tries to kill Watson but doesn't, Friday might have a soul but nothing comes of it. Burnaby gets drunk, and hits Watson for not destroying the notes. Hadaly is a robot that is identical to a human but with no emotions (ie no soul) and wants a soul. No, we're never really going to go into that. Or how a robot got made. Or why we're relying on zombies when robot technology is available. Zombies apparently can turn other people into zombies by biting them, but only sometimes when the plot necessitates it for M's utopia idea. Before that? No turning people to zombies via biting.
So after all that mess of confusing plot lines that go mostly nowhere, how do we end this? What is the grand idea that so many other ideas were set aside or discarded for? Well, the heroes rush from San Francisco to London in a few hours using the super-hyper powerful USS Nautilus (YES. THAT NAUTILUS.) that has been retrofitted by Hadaly's father… Thomas Edison (Just go with it, movies almost over). There they stop M's evil plan of turning everyone into a zombie, while Burnaby tries to shut off the power to the whole evil lab by… battling the Universal Movies' Frankenstein Monster who is guarded the power station for some reason.
Once M has been defeated, now it's time for the REAL villain to show up and enact his REAL villainous plot: The One breaks out his chains, and uses Victor Frankenstein's notes and brain (that M had for some reason) to… ugh… /sigh… suck the souls out of everyone on the planet so he can uses them as a massive… um… thing to resurrect his bride's soul that was somehow trapped in Victor's brain into Hadaly's body, then transfer himself into Friday's body.
No. I'm not joking. One hour and forty minutes of story was actually all about just getting Frankenstein's monster laid. That's the groundbreaking idea that this movie had for this premise.
Of course, the power of 'not wanting to lose Friday' causes Watson to defeat The One, who may or may not have died in the tower falling down (We see him get up from the ground as the tower falls apart around him), there's an almost kiss with Hadaly and Watson before Burnaby who repeats his superpower of somehow never dying or getting hurt no matter what happens to him shows up to interrupt. The movie ends proper with a repeat of the initial experiment that ressurected Friday at the start, only with opium and music as Watson does the 'turn the living into a zombie' thing Karamazov showed him so he can hopefully understand Friday better. The End.
Only not really, because there's another scene after the credits that fans of this trainwreck call 'The Real Ending' which is honestly just Watson and Sherlock Holmes running around, Watson has no memory of anything that happened, Friday stalks him like a scorned lover but apparently now has a soul, Hadaly has changed her name to Irene Adler, and Burnaby is still an ass. The "REAL" end.
The Animation
Despite everything, the film is really pretty. Supposedly the studio that worked a lot on things like Attack on Titan worked on this film (if the advertising is to be believed) and the polish really shows. The detail to all the little steampunk gadgets really helps sell the setting and the look of the world. The zombies seem to vary in detail depending on how many are in the scene but they do a good job animating the dead to look like they are just puppets and that helps a bunch when it comes to visually seeing why things like the newer zombies or Friday are different or special just in the way they move or stand.
Character designs are a little less inspirational. You have your standard bishie protagonists, Hadaly has torpedo boobs to such an nth degree I was half expecting a joke about that being where her power cells are stowed or something, the villains look completely stock, and the only one who looks out of place in Burnaby who honestly from his face to his build to his animation just feels like he belongs more so in a Studio Ghibli flick than this.
The Voice Acting
We did get to see the Funimation dub of the film at our screening which was a welcome surprise since the Alamo Drafthouse's website did not list any of the English cast. It might just be me but there didn't seem to be any sort of stand out performances for this movie. My fiance however enjoyed J. Michael Tatum's performance as Burnaby, but also stated that she couldn't help continuously thinking of a certain Butler the entire time despite the completely different and fairly thick accent Tatum put on the film. On a whole, the acting was good. Nothing great to me, but also no where I could point and say "WTF is that?" Except maybe with the Russian accents. Those seemed to be a bit… Hetalia meets James Bond villain. But hey, that's only for the first third of the movie.
Final Impressions
I said it as soon as the house lights went up in the theater. This film is a hot mess. Plot twists come out of nowhere and are legion in number. The film can't decide what it wants to be about. Is it a monster movie? Is there some kind of message it wants to convey? What message? What is the primary conflict? The One, despite being mentioned a few times, doesn't enter the film until the halfway point. His character is never explored nor are we ever treated to any motivation or character for him beyond exposition dumps from other characters that have no way of actually knowing the info they're spitting out which is only glossed over by crap like "My theory is" or "They say that". Yet by the end, apparently The One trying to resurrect his dead bride (who is shown once at the start of the film, and never mentioned as The One's bride until 15 minutes from the end) is the central goal of the villain that our heroes are trying the thwart? Heck, before that we had little to no motivation for our heroes to oppose 'The One' until after M becomes the villain for 20 minutes before being unceremoniously killed off so The One can take center stage. M would have made sense as a villain because we see him throughout the film making vague mentions of scheming and plotting and how it's his job to 'predict the future' and what not.
Then there's the whole Watson and Friday thing that is given no resolution, is never really explored beyond using Friday to find out if there's a soul, and in the moment where that seems like a possibility it's treated as a huge shocking moment and then immediately forgotten about for the rest of the film. Heck, it can even be interpreted that Watson flat out kills Friday's regained soul immediately afterward to create a better puppet/tool for fighting M/The One.
In the end, the film and the story feels very much like it wants took inspiration from several early science fiction writers without taking or even understanding why those ideas worked. Like a filmmaker who sees a cool shot and decides to use it over and over regardless of whether it works or not because it was cool but they didn't understand WHY it was cool. So the film ends up completely falling apart after the half way point as it tries to throw more and more into the film without any understanding of how to use the elements it adds. It could have been something great. There were a lot of amazing ideas to be explored in this film. What it needed to do was just pick one and stick with it.
Vry takes a whirl in the new Platinum Demo of Final Fantasy XV and plays around with the prettiest coma he's had the pleasure of playing through.
As I'm sure regular readers of this site will know, the conclusion of the Smuggler reviews means that there is only one class storyline I have no yet done any reviews on. This is quite intentional as unlike most of my reviews which were done in either binge sessions with skipping everything outside of the Class Stories or in long drawn out bits and pieces of the course of years, I wanted the Imperial Agent – the storyline I consider to be the best of all eight – to be something different and to really focus on exploring the choices presented to you and to see exactly how much changes.
My original Agent was a strictly gray aligned, straight down the middle, do-the-mission until *coughcoughcoughhack* happened and then things changed for her. But what about the other paths? The ending of Chapter One establishes three distinct scenarios that can emerge from the situation, and I've always wanted to see them all. So with that in mind, I have rolled two characters: Cipher Agent Zero-Sum and Cipher Agent Crim'son, my Light Side operative and Dark Side sniper.
I'll be playing through the Imperial Agent storyline twice. Each Agent will only progress to the end of each planet until both are ready for the next. Each will make their morality choices based on their predetermined alignment. And then I will write about not only what happens but what some of the key differences in the playthroughs will be.
I wanted to explain this because as of late I've received many eager messages from a great number of people across a variety of platforms asking me when the rest of the reviews were coming out. While I have always said that these are something I do for fun and in my spare time, and that regardless of how long it takes me I have no intention of abandoning the project, I want to ensure I give my readers ample status updates to the progress of my work. The Imperial Agent reviews will likely take longer than any of the others. Between playing through it twice, the fact that SWTOR is only one of three MMOs I play on top of my single player games I play and write about (Such as my Final Fantasy retrospectives, enjoying Fallout 4, and my video series of Lets Plays), and I also started a full time job last year that has decreased my gaming time significantly (but increased my gaming budget immensely) – I am here to say I cannot make any firm promises about the timing of these last four class storyline reviews other than yes, they will be completed eventually.
Thank you all for your patience and your readership. You've all turned this little backwater blog into a hub of SWTOR info and brought my views up from the dozens a day to a whopping 400-1000 views a day. And while I don't advertise or anything, it still warms my heart to see so many people coming to a remote corner of the web to read something I wrote. You all are awesome, and I hope not to let you down. In the mean time, I will continue to write. Be it TOR stuff, or Final Fantasy, or some WoW observations, or even post more funny videos for people to enjoy. Keep it tuned to the Land of Odd.
Thank you all so much.
|| IMPERIAL AGENT || Chapter One –>
Warning: This post contains spoilers for the prologue of the Imperial Agent storyline in Star Wars: The Old Republic. To see a spoiler-free summary of the storyline please check this page instead.
Welcome to the cleaning crew, Agent. From this day forth you will have no identity, no friends, and no allegiances to anyone but us. You are a ghost, a shadow, a passerby that is forgotten as quick as you are seen. Your mission will be to protect the Empire's interest across the galaxy, to serve the orders of the Sith and to tidy up their messes. This is your life now, Agent. Welcome to Imperial Intelligence.
The Imperial Agent is exactly all that and more. While the bounty hunter claims a paycheck, and the Sith war for power with each other, it's you that will be behind the scenes of everything, picking up the pieces and ensuring that no matter what happens – the Empire wins. Imagine James Bond, meets Ghost in the Shell, meets Mission Impossible, meets the Bourne Identity, all tossed in a blender of intrigue and action with a finger fully pressed on frappe. That's what you are in for. You've probably heard murmurs across the internet about how the Agent story is probably one of the best stories in the game, and this is not blind hyperbole. But that's for later, and now you are a fresh faced agent, just created, completely green and arriving on Hutta. Let me give you the sit rep on the Prologue for the Imperial Agent.
Oh of all the places to get stuck on your first mission. This has got to be some kind of form of Imperial Intelligence hazing. Hutta, the stinkball, is home to a powerful hutt named Nem'ro. Nem'ro controls a ton of the resources here, and it's up to you to secure a partnership with the hutt and the Empire by any means necessary. Your handler, named "Keeper", which I guess is supposed to be cute because of the ragged mangy akk dogs we are that we need a keeper not a coordinator or a commander, wants you to secure a new identity from an alien in town and make a good impression with the Hutt-in-charge and get to working on setting up an alliance. The alien – Jeeg – has the identity of 'The Red Blade' set up for you. It's the name of a criminal of some renown, no one knows what they look like and the Real Blade is supposed to be on the other side of the galaxy by now. The only real hiccup with this plan is that a couple of low life parasites made off with the crate of goods you were supposed to present to Nem'ro, so it's up to you to get them back and get to Nem'ro for a meeting. The meeting can go well or decent based on your choices really. Either way you get introduced to several members of Nem'ro's crew: Karrells the old timer, Kaliyo the muscle, and Tothrezen the… uh… dumb one that Nem'ro likes? Really Toth doesn't do much other than he's the current favorite, a complete jerk, and dumber than bricks so Karrells always has to pick up his messes. Keeper identifies as Karrells as the best target to get buddy buddy with and you go off using a bit of overhead info to help put Karrells back in Nem'ro's limelight.
How you do that is pretty much taking care of problems for Nem'ro around the planet. Doing things like reclaiming ore from the renegade evocii (the locals that sold their planet to the hutts) that was stolen from Nem'ro's mines, and breaking into the the rival hutt Fathra's factory and blowing up a drilling shaft that's being used to pillage Nem'ro's gas deposits. You've pretty much ensured yourself a man on the inside with Karrells until a slight problem arises. Karrells' kids? His sons that he won't shut up about? Turns out they were just killed. By a Sith. So the chances of Karrells being sympathetic to joining the Empire pretty much will be blasted into space as soon as he gets the news. Thus Karrells turns from your best asset into your biggest liability and we all know what to do with liabilities. Actually, beyond the straight order to just kill Karrells, you can technically just tell him to lay low, get the heck out of town, and not to contact anyone in order to spare his life. Which seems counter to doing your job, but hey, he was a nice guy for a gang leader murderer thug.
The plan at this point radically shifts as you actually pin the murder of Karrells (or the attack if Karrells hid) on the rival hutt Fathra and using a Republic computer spike so it looks like the Republic and Fathra joined forces to take out Nem'ro. But Nem'ro needs proof before he goes to war. You volunteer to find said evidence for justice for poor Karrells (he was your buddy after all. Mwahaha.) and Tothrezen accepts your help. However, Kaliyo is more suspicious. She follows you to your room and confronts you about killing Karrells. Your only choice really is to let her in on the loop because as it turns out – She's not mad! She actually wants in on the heist. So you introduce her to Keeper and he offers her a job working for Imperial Intelligence under your command. She takes the job under the condition that if Keeper ever refers to her as a loyal servant of the Empire again she'll break his jaw. With that settled it's off to Fathra's!
The ultimate goal inside the palace is pretty easy. You kill lieutenants to get their security badges and then download the altered files that show that Fathra has been dealing with the Republic. Of course, a bunch of Fathra's goons try to stop you but that really doesn't slow you down. The actual choice to the whole thing comes in the form of whether you scorch part of the files or not. Why? Well these are all of Fathra's records. This shows that Fathra has had dealings with the Republic now, but also that he's been in cahoots with half of the businesses that work for Nem'ro. If Nem'ro finds out, Hutta's gonna run red with blood which will make Nem'ro happy but destroy a lot of his merchant empire on the planet. So it's actually a nice real difficult choice. You risk exposing this whole thing as a scheme if you damage the files, but you protect Nem'ro's assets or you can just focus on keeping Nem'ro happy and if he slaughters his own city it's his own dumb fault. Either way, the records are proof enough that Nem'ro's hated rival is working with the Republic and that he needs just as much help, so he gets on the holo contacting the Empire for assistance. Mission complete. Almost.
It would seem that on your way off world that the actual, real Red Blade is here and he's not pleased that you've been using his identity. How did he find out? How did he get here so quick? I dunno, but I blame Jeeg. To me though he's just another loose end to wrap up. And by that I mean bury in the ground completely. Or I suppose technically just leaving him dead on the hangar floor. That works too.
Welcome to the home world, Agent. Here you are the secret police and the clean up crew. Which is a weird position to be in when people are terrified of you and at the same time you have to clean up their messes. Speaking of messes, no sooner than you arrive at Imperial Intelligence HQ and you bump into Keeper and Darth Jadus himself. Jadus is a creepy ol' big sith dude who always wears a mask. Honestly, he's probably one of the cooler Sith NPCs in the game. He's very philosophical, not afraid to exert his power, has a unique agenda (more on that in a moment), and looks bad ass. He's not interested in the power plays like Baras or untold hidden power like Zash. Best of all (or worst of all depending on your outlook) he seems to have taken a liking to you in particular, and tells Keeper he wants you to be the agent for the job he was apparently describing before you arrived. That job? Eliminating a terrorist cell on Dromund Kaas. A uniquely boring terrorist cell at that, as they have no formal name, no motive or connections, and their only reason for resorting to terrorism is literally "we are not satisfied with Imperial policy." I've seen tweens on Tumblr with better reasons to get upset, let alone resort to terrorism.
Keeper sends you out to go find an alien slave that was once used to transport messages between political dissidents and supposedly kept copies of said messages "encoded" in his native language. It's encoded in the sense that Imperial nobility are too fricking racist to bother to learn any language other than Basic, I guess. Oh yea. And if you play an agent that's not a cyborg, human or pureblood? Get used to putting up with the incredible racism from your team mates and other Imperials. They love bringing it up. Like calling you a 'creature' or 'alien'. Lots of "you people" crap. You can also get to know the rest of the Imperial Intelligence team before you head out. They are:
If you are wondering where Watcher One is at the moment, he's gone supposedly AWOL working with Darth Angral in the Jedi Knight storyline. Anyway, you head off to find the slave in question – one Jurithus by name – who got caught up in the slave rebellions surrounding the giant statue in the jungle. You hunt down and question a rebellion leader named Rebellion Leader and inject him with a serum you picked up before you left HQ. This pretty much turns his mind into Jello so you can extract info from him. Unfortunately the info you get is that Jurithus died in the jungle (or on the opposite platform from the one you're on it turns out. Again, Jello.) You can then put rebellion leader Rebellion Leader out of his misery and shoot him (Dark Side) or command him to turn himself in (Light Side). You go grab the datapad and since it's "encoded" it's off to Lodenth to translate. Keeper checks in with you and tells you to head back right away – Darth Jadus wants a word with you.
Darth Jadus finally lays out his grand design to you personally, since you are his 'personal agent' now it seems. He no longer wants Dromund Kaas and the Sith to be central repository for hate and fear in the Empire. He wants to 'democratize fear' so that every citizen of the Empire on every world – be they human, Sith or alien – can experience true fear and absolute hatred. This is something he clearly cares deeply about and it's weird. On one hand, that's messed up. On the other hand, he wants everyone – not just the Elite – to experience the same thing. Which is a unique perspective in the Empire where society is firmly divided between Sith and pretty much everyone else. Jadus is planning on taking a starship with a few thousand dignitaries, sith and even slaves around the Galaxy to show them his 'vision' for the Empire and he wants to ensure that these dissidents don't do anything to stop this. He asks you to trust absolutely no one, since he knows that the terrorists to have contacts in the highest levels of power throughout the Empire. He finishes the meeting by asking you to kneel before him. Which you can. Or not. If you choose not to – he kills you. Not just in a cut scene. You die. You have to rez. He seems to expect you to be able to come back from being killed also. Which officially makes Jadus the first character that I know that is aware that death is temporary and may in fact be leaning on the fourth wall a bit.
After the meeting and possibly coming back from the grave, Watcher Two sends you to the cantina for your next lead. Apparently, a weapons designer by the name of Theovor Mindak has contacts with the terrorists. But Mindak works for the rogue sith lord Grathan. You need a better in. Luckily, Mindak has a spoiled party girl daughter who is upstairs at the moment. You can try to use diplomacy to cut a deal where she inherits all her daddy's wealth and power (Light Side), flirt with her (She'll see through it), or just beat her (or a combination!) to get the info out of her and get her access codes. You can also kill her when its over if you want to tie up loose ends (Dark Side). Using the access codes, you can find Mindak in his lab and you find out why he helps the terrorist – because he is dissatisfied with Imperial policy. Okay, actually he's a bit more specific. It seems that Imperial Intelligence grabbed his wife one night and hauled her off to who knows where and she was never seen again. No word on WHY she was hauled off, but I can see how this would sour his outlook. It doesn't matter if you go light or dark, sincere or snark with Mindak, you'll have to fight him and his robots either way. Once he's dead, you grab his files and head back to base while Watcher Two deciphers them.
Once you get back, it's time for a meeting. Darth Jadus phones in as he's readying his ship – The Dominator – for launch. We know the terrorist's target: The power conduits to Kaas City. By blowing just one it would set off a chain reaction that destroy every power source across the capital. All the conduits are under strict military guard save one – the one that lies under the Dark Temple. At this point we finally get some explanation as to what the deal with the temple is. Like that apparently the temple was only opened up just under a month ago and after workers started vanishing to an 'unknown phenomena' (ghosts) they blocked access to it. No I don't know how they built a conduit under it without ever being able to go inside until just recently. Especially since the access tunnel is IN the Temple. Though I suppose the terrorists could have just used that tunnel to blow a hole into accessing the conduit. Still, this is the first but far from the last time we'll receive information about the game's setting that is exclusive to the Agent's storyline. Keeper wants to send in a squad of agents to suppress the terrorists, but Jadus says that the Temple is sacred and he will not allow non-Sith to just run about willy nilly in there. Jadus decides it will be you and you alone that goes into the temple. Keeper is not pleased, doubly so if you thank Jadus for the job.
The mission is actually really simple. You bust in, take down three whole bombs, and then find an injured terrorist to interrogate. You can talk or hit him all you want but what you get out of him is this: There are multiple cells across multiple worlds. Their reasons for doing this are vague but seem to center around the idea of standing up against Imperial Intelligence in particular. And if you let him talk long enough instead of straight killing him when given the opportunity, he'll reveal he's terrified of the ghosts taking his mind more than he is afraid of you. You can help him out by getting him out of there (Light Side) and he'll be more 'cooperative' in looking for the Cells, or just ditch him in the Temple to let the ghosts have him (Dark Side).
When you get back to headquarters, the entire place is in chaos. It would appear that while you were out stopping the terrorists, they had a secondary target in mind – The Dominator. That's right. They blew up Darth Jadus' flagship just as it was leaving Dromund Kaas, killing all three thousand-ish people on board including Darth Jadus himself. This is followed by a proclamation by the terrorist leader – The Eagle – to the entire Empire. He explains that they have proven that the Sith are not all powerful by killing Jadus. That they will continue to strike. That the Empire is bad and needs fixed. That Imperial Intelligence can just grab you if you even think anything bad about the Empire and make you vanish. Really, it's mostly generic freedom fighter rabble rousing but we know who was behind it. Time to go ge- wha? Oh there's one more mission? Ah yes. The exciting conclusion of chasing down a starship before it leaves and planting a mouse droid on it before the military blows things up. You run in and click a crate, then watch a cutscene before leaving. That's it. Whoo hoo. Despite the 'we must beat the military there', they never do show up. Kind of a let down after the awesome reveal of the Eagle and the destruction of the Dominator. I guess they had a quest quota to fill for the XPs? Meh, we get the new title of "Cipher Nine" out of it, and our own ship. Also, don't be a goof like me. Just because Keeper says that they're trying to leave the starport. THEY ARE NOT AT THE STARPORT. They are at a docking area just across from the Cantina in Kaas City. I quick traveled all the way to the actual starport only to be left very confused.
The start of the Imperial Agent is a full blown taste of what you'll be getting in Chapter One. There's intrigue, deception, manipulation and eliminating lots of enemies of the Empire. In a lot of ways it feels very straight and by the book, but on the other hand it offers you a real chance to get into the headspace of the secret police of the Empire. They aren't exaggerating when they say that Imperial Intelligence can show up out of nowhere and make you vanish. You are fully authorized to kill whoever you want and rest assured that the Watchers will make sure that no one else finds out if need be. The only place you have to be cautious is outside of Imperial jurisdiction as shown on Hutta with Karrels. It's kind of scary to think about what you can do as an Agent if you look at it from the outside.
It's also quite interesting coming back and playing this story a second (and third I'm sure you noticed with the screenshots) time. While everything seems straight laced and by the books missions, there's actually a metric ton of foreshadowing given in the prologue about the events that will transpire in the next chapter. Not to get too spoilery, but the Prologue gives you all the clues you need to piece together the mystery in Chapter One. But it also sets up red herrings, misdirection, and a sense of you don't know who is on the level. Simply put, there's a lot more going on in this chapter than you will realize on your first play through it. Which is awesome. You can come back later on a new character after you finished an agent and go, "Oh. OOOOOOH. I GET IT!"
We also get our first companion, Kaliyo. Who coincidentally at the time of this writing has just been re-introduced in the Knights of the Fallen Empire storyline. Kaliyo is anti-authority to the point of being an "anarchist". Anarchist like punk bands in the 80's and high school kids who draw that 'A' symbol on their folders use the word, not like the actual political manifesto way. She's also a love interest of the male Agent. I have only had a few chances to flirt with her, but honestly Kaliyo comes off a LOT like Jack from Mass Effect 2 without all the emotional baggage and breakthrough that can come from that romance. So I'm not sure I can say I personally am the biggest fan.
Overall, I think the Agent has a good start. I can see how it can be deceptively simple and straightforward to a first time player. I remember thinking it didn't get good until the end of Chapter One. But now re-playing it, I can see all the awesome connections and set ups that were actually going completely under the radar on this one.
|| IMPERIAL AGENT || Chapter One –>
"I'm going to make my OWN Horde. With blackjack. And hookers." – Garrosh Hellscream, probably.
No Campfire can best him, no Shadow Hunter troll can dissuade him, this time Garrosh Hellscream is out to prove he is the one true Warchief the Horde needs AND deserves… by emulating it in Democracy 3.
To find out more about the 2010 Warchief Election at https://oddcraft.wordpress.com/category/other-stuff/warchief-election-2010/
A few months back I picked up Super Mario Maker for my Wii U, and boy is that a fun way to kill some time. Whether I'm designing levels or just playing through random ones that other people made, I still have a blast every time. Well, almost every time. I'm not exactly a huge fan of those auto-Mario levels that play themselves. Or the musical levels that for some reason never and I mean NEVER sound like the song their supposed to be. I get that those kind of things have an audience and I know auto-Mario is a HUGE thing in other parts of the world and the game is built around an international audience but ya know, it just never really clicked with me. I never liked that kind of stuff in Little Big Planet either.
Anyway, I finally got around to uploading some of my more thoroughly tested levels to their online servers and I figured I'd share the level IDs on here for anyone who also enjoys some Mario Maker and wanted to try them out:
Don't Get Phazed By the Maze!
Course ID: 71A2-0000-01AC-0388
Starting basic with a more classic feel, it slowly begins ramping up difficulties and challenging you to think in alternate ways before sending you into the maze proper. The maze has several paths, including a easy but tricky emergency bonus exit that rewards you with a hearty compliment to your endeavors and a straight shot to the top of the pole. Keep an eye out for hidden bonuses tucked away here and there.
Above, Below & WAY Below
Course ID: CFAA-0000-01AC-0AB2
The mentality of the 'multiple paths' in "Don't Get Phazed By the Maze!" takes full force here. There are 3 separate paths per section with ample opportunities to cross between them. Difficult to reach paths on the 'overworld' are rewarded with easier paths in the 'underworld' areas. There are dozens of different combinations and methods to complete this level with hidden goodies to get you from here to there along the way. Can you find the best path?
Spooky with a Capital P Switch
Course ID: 6DB3-0000-01AC-1A9C
A short level built around a single P-Switch. The switch can make the level easier or more rewarding by either countering enemies or opening up new paths. Can you find the secret coin vault?
Do you have a Mario Maker level? Share your Course ID in the comments below! I'd love to try them out.
The countdown begins to the bills being due, and with only a handful of simoleons in our pocket can we rack up enough royalties to keep in business? Maybe. If one of these Sims could finish writing a FRICKIN BOOK! What else could possibly go wrong!?
…Do you smell that?
<– Chapter Two || SMUGGLER ||
Warning: This post contains spoilers for the third chapter of the Smuggler storyline in Star Wars: The Old Republic. To see a spoiler-free summary of the storyline please check this page instead.
When last we left our intrepid smuggler, they had just foiled a scandalous attempt on the life of Senator Dodonna using cybernetically enhanced beasts of unknown origin. The Senator tasked us with the job of hunting down where these beasts came from and how Rogun the Butcher got them. To find this out, there's only one place to go and one person to talk to: The man with his hands in every plan – Darmas Palloran who sits chilling at Port Nowhere. Turns out that Darmas is completely on the ball on this one and has already got your answer by the time you arrive. The animals come from the planet Voss, a newly discovered world with insanely strict laws governing the coming to's and going from's the planet. Somehow Rogun managed to get these beasts off world, and that means going to Voss for answers. Sadly that will take some time. See, you're not a fancy Jedi and you ain't Republic special forces, so you'll have to get to Voss the good old fashioned bureaucratic way – by getting a permit. That means it will take time. Luckily, Darmas has another lead you can pursue in the mean time.
It seems that our good friend/headache Rogun the Butcher has a bit of business on the secret prison planet of Belsavis. He's apparently aiming to break out his old mentor who goes by the name 'Ivory'. Ivory taught Rogun everything he knew, so he's a powerful asset to Rogun AND to you against Rogun. Also I feel its worth mentioning that somehow it is actually easier for me to get access to super secret prison planet than it is to get a parking pass on the diplomatically neutral world of Voss. Keep that in mind the next time you go through there. That every other class is pretty much in the express lane to getting to go to Voss compared to the Smuggler and the rest of the galaxy.
So your first task to go get Ivory from his cell. Bit of a problem there though. Belsavis is in the middle of the biggest prison riot in the planet's history thanks to the Imperials. So the guards aren't exactly sure if Ivory is where he should be nor can they guarantee safe arrival to the cell. Could be worse though. They could be out of Space Coffee and Donuts, which they clearly aren't given the ABUNDANCE of guards and prison personnel just standing around at the main compound. Get to work, you lazy pieces of trash.
It turns out that the cell is not empty at all. It's full of explosives! Seems like when Ivory flew the coop he wanted to leave a goodbye present. You find a tunnel after taking cover that was dug into the stone that clearly indicates good ol' Ivory has been contemplating getting out of here for a while. I mean that's not poured cement we're talking about. It's solid rock. That's determination! So you know that Ivory is out, and it seems from reports that a lot of Ivory's crew is being busted out as well. Except for one. You race to a guard station where they have the last member of Ivory's team in holding to see if she has any ideas on where Ivory has gone. But sadly, the girl is insanely fanatical and just spouts gibberish. The bad news rolls in as it becomes very clear that the guard holding her their was holding her not for you – but for Ivory. Ah, corrupt prison guards. Nice to see that even in the level 40's that we're still slumming it as a smuggler. One of Rogun the Butcher's personal assassins joins you from the rafters and kills the girl, so you quickly have to take out both the assassin and the corrupt guard. And we're back to square one with the whole 'no clues' thing. But wait! The guard has a list of names. Names to set free! Potentially for Ivory! Another lead! HUZZAH!
This lead sends you down to the prisons to meet up with two more members of Ivory's crew whose names I never bothered to learn because I immediately just started calling them Bebop and Rocksteady. Their comedy relief henchmen essentially who you can – through no great effort – convince to fight each other instead of you. With them out of the way, it's time to deal with the big ol' gendai they let out and try to get some answers. Honestly, I don't know how we really plan to defeat a friggin gendai since they establish on Imperial Nar Shadaa that they essentially can regenerate from almost nothing to the point that they had to run the corpses through meat grinders to stop them from coming back. Here you just blast him and walk off. Maybe he does regenerate. Not much reason to worry about him staying down so long as you can get out the door. Anyway, you get your next clue about Ivory's location – the Deep Vaults.
Now where in the Deep Vaults? Never really pinpointed but the mission marker tells me where to go and I follow. Apparently, Ivory headed to what at least appears to be an ancient Rakata starship hanger complete with repaired starship. I'm suddenly having flashbacks to the end of John Carpenter's The Thing. Ivory says he's going to use this ancient starship (Up next on The History Channel) to blast off and leave Belsavis. This is actual fairly funny considering that a few scenes back with Ivory he was ranting about he was mastering the ancient Rakata technology and no longer needed to escape. Meaning that he was going to use the Rakata technology to escape? I'm not sure. But sinister plotting is a foot as that assassin you killed earlier isn't dead! But he is! He's actually just got like a dozen identical twins! What the fu-?!
Cornered by the baker's dozen, you quickly learn that they're not just there for you. It seems Rogun considered Ivory too risky to have alive in or out of prison. This opens up the brilliant opportunity to negotiate. You and Ivory team up to wipe out the goons and then you can press your leverage on him to either get intel on Rogun from him and send him back to the prisons, just flat out kill the guy or – my personal favorite – bring him with you and smuggle him out of the prison to work under you and teach you the ways of being an underworld boss. Heck. Yes.
This first interlude is just a really weird brief break. A Jedi Master, Sumalee, who is apparently yet another old friend of Risha's gets a hold of you and asks you to retrieve another old friend of Risha's who is an SIS team member from Hoth. She's pinned down and on a mission investigating something that isn't really important to the plot at all but because of this she can't trust anyone in the Republic base. In other words, she needs to be smuggled off world.
I honestly don't know what the point of this was beyond reminding you that you are a smuggler and to introduce Sumalee who has a minor presence in the story ahead on Corellia. Beyond that it's just an experience buffer. You could have easily stuck this in the Interlude-less Act 2 (unless you count Quesh as an interlude. Might as well given how short those class story missions are.) Sumalee isn't so vital that she needs introducing, and we already know that Risha is friends with everyone in the galaxy (Heck, she's friends with Vette from the Sith Warrior storyline! That's cross storyline friendship!)
Well, looks like those permits have finally come through and we can land on Voss. Or more accurately the space station orbiting Voss and then take a shuttle down. But we're totally allowed to be there now. Unlike all those riff raffs and undesirables. Like the Exchange. Who run a massive criminal base just outside of Voss-Ka… Why did I have to wait for the paperwork again? I thought I was a smuggler. Like just in the last mission I smuggled friggin PEOPLE. Can I just smuggle things off of planets? Can I not smuggle myself? To make things worse is that the Voss assign you a chaperon to keep an eye on things. That won't put a kink in these plans at all. Seriously, Dodonna has to be the worst negotiator ever to get me here on just these terms. Luckily, our nanny isn't completely useless. He actually leads us to the aforementioned Exchange base. Seems our babysitter has a eclectic taste for offworlder music that the Exchange can get him. He introduces you to a fixer who is willing to put you in contact with Rogun's smuggling ring for a meet if you help him gather up some Voss artifacts to sell.
So once you get him set up, he sends you off to this meeting with Rogun's team and this may come as a shock to you but Rogun's lackeys recognize Rogun's number one kill on sight most wanted. I know. I didn't see it coming either. Shock. They're not dumb either. These guys not only have found a way to work with the Voss' hated enemies – The Gormak – but found a way to smuggle Gormak modified cybernetic animals off world. Better yet, they actually got a plan together as soon as the fixer arranged the meeting. They're going to pin the whole thing on you. They knock you out and take off just in time for the Voss Commandos to show up and see only you and an entire smuggling operation. Wow. This sucks. Luckily, my chaperon is willing to do the talking while I sneak off. He apparently trusts me implicitly as long as I tell him that I'm not lying. How the heck have the Voss survived contact with the outside galaxy?
You rush back to the Exchange Fixer (Honestly, more than anything else I am utterly shocked how somehow the Exchange ends up being the good guys here) and explain what happened. He feels terrible about how sour the deal went since after all he's a business man and has a rep to think about. But if the Gormak are involved, he does have a shipment going to the Gormak later and he can freeze you in carbonite (you know, it's easy. Like going to pick up some milk from the store. Just a quick carbon freezing and then back to work on Monday. Takes years off your face, dahling.) so you can sneak past their lifesign scanners and get into Gormak territory.
When you arrive, you come face to face with "Gormak Zac" the 'Human Gormak'. Essentially, a human who went native. He was momentarily in the earlier scene with the smuggling meet but we didn't really get that much about him other than he was the contact between Rogun's goons and the Gormak. However, he's not loyal to Rogun and defnitely not on his payroll. Once you explain the situation and what Rogun's been doing, Zac will happily help you since its against even Gormak law to sell abominations from the Nightmare Lands – a market Rogun's female lackey is hoping to bust in on. He helps you escape if you promise to help stop her. Turns out that it's two birds with one stone since while going after her in the Nightmare Lands, you get a chance to record a meeting between her and a Sith Lord that proves that you weren't the smuggler to the Voss. Well, not THAT smuggler at least. You fight the abominations, the Sith and Rogun's henchwoman and head back to Voss-Ka for your big fat… criminal… trial. Damn.
The trial isn't even remotely fair either. You prove your innocence handily with the recording but then they change the rules after the fact and charge you with all this other crap you did while on the planet that you weren't on trial for. So, in Voss law, it doesn't matter if you can prove you didn't murder a guy if you even DARED to jaywalk while proving your innocence. Forgive me, honeycomb eyes. You can choose to take your licks will gives you an entirely optional and don't-need-it-to-progress side mission of delivering packages to various planets, OR you can throw your babysitter under the bus when he volunteers to shoulder the blame for the whole incident. Don't be a dummy, kids! If you do the crime, let your buddies do the time.
So the words gone out. Between the hit on the Voss operation and the royal mess up with trying to eliminate Ivory, Rogun is calling in all his remaining lieutenants to a secret meet on Tatooine that you just happen to have got the deets on. Time to put an end to this pain in the rear once and for all. However, as you confront Rogun and square off with his goons, a pair of strange Sith appear. They delight in revealing the twist: The Voidwolf is the real bad guy! Okay that's not the actual twist. It turns out that Darmas Palloran and Senator Dodanna are in league with the Voidwolf. They've been pitting you and Rogun against each other so the two of you wipe each other out, leaving Darmas to control the criminal underworld. Senator Dodanna's privateer "project" was actually just a front for you to acquire things FOR the Voidwolf so she can earn ruling over an entire planet once the Imperials conquer the Republic. They both have been playing you for a sap!
Next comes the big choice. Rogun's been hounding you since level 1. He's come after you time and again. This is your chance to kill him. But that's not the only option. You can also force him to work for you and for him to give you his share of the criminal underworld. Revenge or profit. It's a race between my two favorite vices. Take your pick!
With Rogun dealt with in one way or another, it's time to go for the Voidwolf and his partners in crime – Darmas and Dodanna. You reunite with Master Sumalee (Yup. Super vital to establish earlier for this express purpose) and try and convince her of the Senator's guilt but without proof there's not much hope. After all, Dodonna's a well respected senator of Coruscant, not scum like Darmas. Speaking of which, you do scope out Dodanna's partner – Darmas's – safehouse and find he's working with the Corellian rebels to blow open Supply tunnel 26, which happens to be the 'artery' of the underground tunnel network that many soldiers died to seal up so the Imps couldn't use the tunnels to invade all of Corellia. You find Darmas preaching to a bunch of Corellian revolutionaries who have all been told that you were a traitor who stole White Maw cloaking tech and Balmorran weapons for the Voidwolf (Technically accurate, but not knowingly). You can respond by either opening fire, try to convince the angry mob that Darmas is an Imperial, or you can be like me and convince them that Darmas is trying to steal the women of Corellia – which apparently turns out to be somewhat true as he's been flirting and asking girls back to his ship since he got there. (Who knew?) He flees back to the Imperial's base when cornered by siccing droids on you.
To get to Darmas, you need to get inside the Imperial base that is in a commandeered hospital. Only way to get through that many guards is to attack various targets to lure them out and then sneak in using the revolutionaries' doctor contact. Once you make contact with the doctor, he mentions he was expecting a captain with an injured leg and notes that the only way in is on a stretcher – so he shoots you. Once inside you find Darmas talking to a weasely Corellian politician that helped sell out the planet to the Imps, and here you can either kill him, turn him into the Republic to testify against Dodonna, or let him escape in exchange for all the info he has on Dodonna.
Next is to get to Dodonna, who fled to the Voidwolf's men as soon as she caught wind that this was going down. They're holed up in the Museum of Alien History, but the only 'safe' way in is through an old abandoned selonian tunnel that was caved in. After blowing through some walls, and fighting escaped zoo animals that decided to live there (Raising the question of how long they've been down here. Did they escape the zoo during the invasion and get stuck? Or did the zoo just really suck at its job?), you find Dodonna affixed with a slave collar and cleaning the floor for an Imperial Lieutenant. She's willing to tell you about the Voidwolf's plans – that he's building a pirate fleet to attack the Republic ship yards – but will mock your attempts to arrest her since she knows she'll just walk free in exchange for all she knows about the Voidwolf. Instead she wants 'free free' – to just be turned loose and let vanish into the greater galaxy. You can let her do that if you want, or you can lie to her and then kill her once she's turned over the evidence. After all, it's just a lie for a lie. However as a nice touch, if you do take the lie and kill route, your smuggler will look away as they pull the trigger. Just one of those 'not completely heartless' moments that I really enjoyed.
Finally it's time to go for the Voidwolf. To get to him, you'll need to break into the weasely senator from earlier's home and stow away or catch a ride with him to the Voidwolf's flagship. After the Jedi Master Sumalee gives some not-so-Jedi advice on breaking-and-entering (She was Risha's friend, remember?), you go and deactivate all the cameras and sensors from around the house. Then you defeat the guard captain and force him to walk you through the security system that will fry anyone who isn't authorized or not with someone who is. You then meet the senator who offers you a deal to work with the Voidwolf. In the moment you might sped thinking that offer over, he calls the guards on you. What a toad. Then you have to chase him down to get the codes to take off in his shuttle by either just killing him or forcing him to give you the codes before letting him go. Either way you take his ship and we're off to see the Voidwolf.
The finale starts IMMEDIATELY as you board the Senator's ship, so be ready. From there it's your standard 'fight through the ship' mission that if you're like me and are playing every class mission – you're quite used to. There's a mini boss in the form of the Voidwolf's Underboss at the end of the first area which is actually a refreshing change of pace. There's also a small easter egg I found of a female officer kicking back with her feet on the table watching a double than life size holo of a female twilek pole dancing. So there's a fun bit of same sex… uh… interest? When you finally reach the end of the ship, the Voidwolf is ordering his new pirate fleet around when you interrupt, and the various captains decide that they will serve whoever wins. Because as pirates they all work on some weird Mad Max style set of rules where only the strongest is worthy of loyalty or some such. You fight and defeat the Voidwolf, who tries to trick you with activating a thermal detonator when you kick over his assumed dead body, but you throw it back at him blowing him up.
With the Voidwolf dealt with, your new pirate fleet wants to know orders. You can tell them to pay a tribute to you and then disperse, to attack the Imperials, or to serve you as pirates and to plunder from the Imps AND Pubs while they fight each other. Then, because the Voidwolf is an ass and has to pull ever villain card from the deck, your crew informs you that a self destruct is imminent so you have to go find an escape pod. AND THE IMPS ARE STILL FIGHTING YOU ALL ALONG THE WAY. WHY? DO YOU WISH FOR DEATH THAT MUCH?! And in case you didn't finish up any business planet side – good news! You crash back down on Corellia after escaping.
The ending of the story depends entirely on what you chose on the Voidwolf's ship. I've done this storyline twice and have got two completely different endings to this story: When you chose to have the fleet attack the Imperials or take the money & have them disperse, you get a medal ceremony with Supreme Chancellor Saresh and Master Sumalee where I was proclaimed a Republic hero. If you choose the pirate option? Well the three captains show up to give you a share of the haul, Ivory and Rogun show up too if you had them join your team. They announce that galaxy wide you are being called 'The Bandit King' and you can reopen Port Nowhere as your personal pirate fortress. So Galaxy's greatest hero or greatest crime lord. Not bad for a two bit smuggler who just wanted to run some guns to a bunch of freedom fighters on Ord Mantell.
Chapter Three is a really solid cap on an overall solid storyline. Again, I think the thing that seems to really encapsulates the smuggler story is momentum. The stakes keeping getting raised, the dangers escalate, the threats get more menacing – that kind of thing and Chapter Three carries on that whole process really well. I was initially very worried when Skavak was defeated at the end of Chapter One that we would have a repeat of the situation in the Bounty Hunter or Trooper storyline but no, because the story had the foresight to neither string us along with the annoyance of Skavak for three chapters but to also include a secondary villain to wait in the wings and occassionally send goons after you to remind you of his presence with Rogun the Butcher. Rogun is first mentioned right there on Ord Mantell and you don't actually ever come face to face with the guy until right before Corellia. All the while he exists as a threat to you. The Voidwolf may write you off as insignificant but Rogun wants your head on a plate and he keeps gunning for you the entire storyline.
That's the kind of momentum this story has. No matter whats going on, there isn't a lull in the danger. It never diminishes or even stays constant. It's always growing. From Skavak to Rogun & the Voidwolf to the surprise betrayal of Dodonna and Darmas, you find yourself constant fighting an uphill battle – which is what good drama should do. In the Trooper storyline, there is no major threat to fill the gap of losing the first chapter's villains. The Bounty Hunter kind of meanders around in Chapter Three without a clear cut idea of what you're doing beyond 'earning favors' to cash in for the 'where to fight the bad guy' coupon. Here though? Everything ties together. Everything plays a part in the overall story. That junk robot Skavak wanted from the Seperatists? The 'freaky trophy' from the Imps? All used as items for trading to get what you need for the treasure. Your seemingly unrelated privateer missions? That's how Dodonna and Darmas buy their way into the Voidwolf's inner circle. The only point where the connections are stretched at best is a few of the interludes and even they aren't pointless – just not necessary. The smuggler story just builds until you – a lone plucky starship captain with no backing from any major organization – either takes down an Imperial admiral and his pirate fleet to save the day or rises up to become the most notorious pirate king since the days of Nok Drayan.
The one other perk to the story is that it's funny. Like honest to goodness funny. I found myself constantly laughing while playing through this. Especially if you play it with kind of a gray morality. The light side stuff falls on the side of 'help the innocent, save the day' and the dark side stuff is mostly 'get paid and kill anyone in your way' but the gray choices usually fall firmly in the snarky category, and it is SO worth it to pursue that route.
There's a reason I listed this storyline so high on my list of Worst to Best storylines. It really is a well constructed and fun storyline. It has two distinct endings that change based on your choices instead of just some basic fluff of a changed line in a default ending like the Jedi get. It never feels like it slows down or stalls, and it always has some new wacky card to pull out to put a smile on your face. It also exposes you to a side of the Star Wars universe you don't get to see much of in the other storylines – the seedy underbelly. Oh sure the bounty hunter starts on Hutta and there's scum everyone on a Hutt controlled planet but beyond that your clientele seems to be those who can afford your fees. Here? Your a smuggler. By definition you are working below the legal line. Which leads you to meeting the more colorful characters in Star Wars.
Seriously, I don't think anyone will be disappointed playing through this storyline. Do yourself a favor and give it a try. I never thought it felt like a slog and I've played through it twice already.
<– Chapter Two || SMUGGLER ||


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About the AuthorTammy Paolino
Tammy Paolino is a Senior Content Editor of the Courier-Post/CPSJ.com. A home cook with a passion for local farmer's markets, ethnic dining, regional cookbooks and family dinners, Tammy has reported on food trends in New Jersey for more than 18 years. E-mail Tammy
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Jeremy Irons Worries Same-Sex Marriage Could Lead to Legalized Incest
Jeremy Irons may have caused debates for invoking incest into a discussion about gay marriage. The actor, who plays pope in Showtime's historical drama "The Borgias", said in an interview with HuffPost Live he's concerned that marriage equality would lead to incest.
"It's a very interesting one, and I don't really have a strong feeling," the 64-year-old actor said when asked about the fights to legalize same-sex marriage. "It seems to me that now they're fighting for the name and I worry that it means somehow we debase or we change what marriage is."
"It's an interesting one because, you see, could a father not marry his son?" he went on. When the interviewer noted there were laws against incest, he argued, "It's not incest between men. Incest is there to protect us from inbreeding, but men don't breed so incest wouldn't cover that."
Irons seemed to refer to British law that restricted a man from marrying any female in his genetic circle but didn't expressly forbid a man from marrying his own son. "So if that were so, then if I wanted to pass on my estate without death' duties, I could marry my son and pass on my estate to him," he added.
"I don't have a strong feeling either way," he later reiterated. "I just wish everybody who's living with one other person the best of luck in the world, because it's fantastic."
"Living with another animal, whether it be a husband or a dog, is great," he said. "It's lovely to have someone to love. I don't think sex matters at all. What it's called doesn't matter at all."
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CMS-branded Clothing for Sale. CLICK HERE
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Volunteers needed for the upcoming Mt. Wachusett race and other CMS organized events. You can volunteer for any or all of them through this link to VolunteerSpot.
Happy running.
Why is Brenda Morris having so much fun? Because she is a member of CMS!
CMS coach Barbara McManus has started the spring track workouts at Wachusett High School. Wednesdays, 6PM.
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#8892706, By EmiliasHorse The official London 2012 Olympic Games thread
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Johnson sounds like he's ready to filibuster on Hagel nomination
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This reminds me of when the Wisconsin Democrats left the state to prevent a quorum.Hide replies
Does this mean you agree with this sort of political stunt or not?
Well - this "stunt" as you call it ios no where near the stupidity of the stunt of the democrats who left the state and every little pink liberal dem applauded them for their stand. You can't have it both ways -----
Correct. You can't have it both ways so does this mean you agree with this sort of political stunt or not?
If your party does something its done 'according to the rules', if another part does it its a stunt. Unfortunately, and more than ever, in today's politics both parties will abuse laws in a legal manner, not necessarily following the spirit in which the law was intended.
Someone needs to take this dog out back and show him who his master is. Someone call Caesar Milan!
We must vote these stupid, pus bag, radical tea party nut jobs like Johnson out of office! Wake up people and quit watching that garbage Fox news!
The best part is the Tea-Publicans still have no idea why he is called MO-RON!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Let him stand up in front of the rest of the Senators for 10 hours babbling on about who knows what and they will all be laughing at him more than I do. hahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!
Ron Johnson OMG!! That is the funniest thing I have heard all day Does this tool ever work ? seems like he is on AM Talk Radio 8 hrs a day 7 days a weekHide replies
Only on Fascist and Fox type stations, thank God
Rojo....they don't allow bathroom breaks so wear your depends!!!Hide replies
Filibusters these days don't require endless speeches, etc from the filibustering side.
They simple require the filibustering side to declare that they are indeed filibustering. After which, the side wanting to end the filibuster must file their intent to try to end the filibuster with a 'cloture vote'.
A period of time follows the 'intent for cloture' ( two or three days; maybe different for filibusters of nominees) which is nominally to be used for debate - though it doesn't have to be. After that time period, a vote is held, and at least 60 Senators must vote to end the filibuster. If fewer than 60 votes, the filibuster continues, until the next cloture period/vote, or until the non-filibuster side gives up.
At the beginning of each two-year period of "Congress". the Senate can - by simple majority vote - set their internal rules for the two year period. And for the current session of Congress, there was A LOT of discussion of changing these filibuster rules to require that kind of endless speeches that you're thinking of; and/or to change the 'burden of the 60 vote threshold. so that instead of needing to get 60 votes to end filibuster, the other side would need to get 40 votes to continue the filibuster. Small changes indeed, yet even such small changes were too much for the Senate Democrats. They chickened out, and essentially changed nothing.
That's all right wingers know what to do. They cannot make a decision or vote on anything. Unless it's against violence against women.
Hagel has more political savvy in his pinky finger than Johnson could ever dream of having. He is call MO-RON for a reason. Perhaps Ronny should spend more time learning how to help the people than becoming a guest commentator for AM Conservative talk shows!
Ronald Reagan said it often in debate...'There he goes again.' Well, that's just what Johnson is doing. Just like the first two years of Obama's presidency, the tea-partiers in the Senate used the filibuster to accomplish their will. It's getting stupid already. They're like spoiled brats. When they don't get what they want, they throw tantrums (read: filibuster). Shame on him!!!Hide replies
Slightly stupid remark - the ones who refuse to even talk compromise or change their position to meet the will of the people is the intrasigent democrats who just spend and spend and spend and will do anything to kiss obummers butt.
Shame on YOU, latenlife. You have no idea what you're talking about. Instead, you prattle on and on the doctrine of the far right loonies.
Ir's impossible to shame the latenlife's. They presume to know "the will of the people". One would believe he's been living incommunicado in the desert fort the last 40 years and he failed to see the most recent election results. The people won again as they did in2008. The people are revolted by the 'Aristocracy of the Irresponsible Rich" who refuse to support equal opportunity and equal justice under the law. He joins Cruz, Johnson and the other jingoists for economic superioroty uber alles. The people will spit them out for the Bircher bile they are unless the OP is more successful in their voter suppression activity. "We the People"? admit it latenlife, you despise "the people" and their right to vote.
Ron Johnson said during the election campaign he was going to be a different kind of Senator, an outsider that wants to make changes. It looks to me he's doing everything he can to be one of the good ol' boys and fit right in.
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Voted 'Best Indian Restaurant 2013' and "Best Asian Restaurant 2014" by the Restaurant Association of Singapore, Zaffron Kitchen opens its second outlet in Westgate. It serve an excellent mix of North, South and local Indian favourites. This new outlets gives a chic vintage elegance feel.
For pictures and detailed review: http://sgrollies.blogspot.sg/2015/07/review-zaffron-kitchen-westgate.html
I seldom eat indian food but this restaurant is different, that's why after trying it once, I brought my friend to try it too.. Overall, the food is quite good, possibly the best indian food I have ever eaten in a restaurant. Service needs to be improved though.
We would like to report dishonest behaviour of Restaurant owner to all concerned customers. We were 4 people who went to restaurant after seeing "one for one" beer offer and we ordered 4 beers hoping to be billed for 2. We also confirmed from waiter if the offer stands true and he confirmed affirmative. In the end, we were billed for 4 beers and the reason cited was that we needed to order in that particular section in their IPAD (They take offers through ipads on each table). When we asked, why would some one expect a normal consumer to read all terms and conditions, we were told that some customer do not want to utilise one for one offer and hence their orders need to specify this. We are extremely baffled with sheer dishonesty and malice of owner. We will never visit this dishonest place ever and we advise all people who believe dishonesty should not be tolerated, not to visit this place. SHAMEFUL Zaffron Kitchen.
Went for a special occasion but our experience was ruined due to poor service. We asked the staff to remove class cutlery for my young child. However the glass removed removed and as usual my kid broke the glass. The glass pieces went into our food and it was ruined.
Had to ask for servittes serveral times. Also the staff serving us didn't know english.
This place certainly needs to give focus to their service and improve it.