(My apologies of all the sound of receiving messages while recording, pretty sure ignoring my wife would be a terrible idea.)
Tuesday, 30 July 2019
Age of Wonders -- Keepers Scenario 7 - Part 5
A lovely recap of our current situation. So far so good, doesn't look like we're going to have to restart...?
Monday, 29 July 2019
=== Mobile Game Review -- Hooked Inc: Fisher Tycoon - Idle Progression - 8/10 ===
What Are We Reviewing?
Today I have another Idle Progression-type game for you called Hooked Inc: Fisher Tycoon. Now it's hard to get around the mass of Idle Progression games that exist on mobile devices, sure they're mostly all free so you could try them on your own... or you can take a a look at my experience to see whether or not your interest is great enough to skip the time cost altogether.
Gameplay:
As with all idle games there is an active and an idle portion of the game. The active part involves swiping across the screen to catch fish. Catching fish means you make money which can be used to buy upgrades which make fish worth more which means more money and so on and so forth.
Every so often you'll receive chests which may have money or.... emeralds in them (which is the second type of currency in the game), or there are of course quests which give rewards for performing tasks such as the above which is to acquire 40 upgrades which then gives 3 emeralds.
What are emeralds used for you ask? Emeralds are used for hiring employees which increase productivity both online and offline. How great is that? These employees can even be upgraded to be better by spending emeralds on them.
There is a fun little spinner in this game which gives you a free spin to get bonuses including increased income for a period of time which can be spun additionally by watching advertisements for even more bonuses.
What is the point of all of this? Well to earn experience of course which can be claimed by taking the action of going back to the start of the game from step one only earning 1% more income per point of experience and 100% more income per star... which is again gained by completing quests and things.
So at this point we've hit all the usual points of an idle game where you have regular income, alternate income, and a prestige-type thing which resets your progress so that you can get further into the game faster. Pretty straightforward.
There's a fun little difference in this game compared to others where there are boxes which float down every once in a while that have items within them. These items have different abilities including increasing fish value and even the ability to catch birds!
Graphics:
The artwork is nice on the eyes, very thematic showing wood, wind, water, and fish. It all makes sense when it comes to fish and fishing with nothing sorely out of place. My only "complaint" would be that there isn't much incentive to watch the screen because most of the time you're carelessly swiping back and forth or putting the phone down because it's another advertisement.
I will however take a quick moment to note that I LOVE that this game gives REAL incentive to watching advertisements. Normally an advertisement would be something you start and put the phone down for a minute just to get an x2 multiplier on your earnings which is... sort of a whatever kind of thing to do when it comes to money, but in Hooked Inc: Fisher Tycoon you get 10 Crowns every time you watch an ad which eventually levels up to get more upgrades. Finally a game that REALLY rewards you for watching advertisements!
Sound:
I've always enjoyed the sound of the ocean and birds (in this case seagulls), which is one of the reasons I really want to go back to Hawaii one day. On the other hand, the music got really old really fast. REALLY fast.
Replayability:
This is always the biggest point of a game is how long can you continue playing a game for? I did find Hooked Inc: Fisher Tycoon very fun, but as with all idle games, it tends to fall off after a while once you get over the honeymoon phase. Idle games will unfortunately never been in the hall of fame on my list of games because the gameplay never changes; it's a very short look of getting the game upgrades and performing the same actions, restarting for a higher multiplier, then doing it all again.
SUMMARY:
There are a few points which set this game apart from other idle-games I've played before:
1) If you enjoy fish, you'll enjoy this game.
2) It's not all about passive income, there's a lot of progress to be made when actively playing and the mechanic to doing so is all about swiping (which is much easier on the hands than tapping).
3) Advertisements that play into the future of the game.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, idle-games are not my favourite; they get old very fast. HOWEVER, in terms of what an idle-game is looking to do... Hooked Inc: Fisher Tycoon is a really good one with differences that make it interesting.
I have to knock off a couple points when an idle game stops progressing so quickly or runs out of things to do, so I will be giving Hooked Inc: Fisher Tycoon 8/10. It really is one of the better idle-games out there, but I still have a problem with a game that relies on watching advertisements to progress further into the game.
~ DaemonVirus
Wednesday, 3 July 2019
=== PC Game Review -- Rogue's Tale - Turn-Based Dungeon Crawler - 2/10 ===
What Are We Reviewing?
Now I do like RPG and rogue-like games, and I also like when games are difficult and don't hold your hand, so today we're going to review Rogue's Tale. This is another game that I really tried to like because I do enjoy these types of games, though you'll soon see just how frustrating a game like this could really be.
Released March 28, 2014 and currently available in on Steam for $5.69 CAD, Rogue's Tale is a turn-based dungeon crawler which is meant to give you the experience of playing one of those good old RPG games which used to use the ASCII graphics and more often than not killed you before you got anywhere interesting; that's the same experience when playing this game.
As seen above you get to create your character each time you play and can even start with bonuses IF YOU'VE UNLOCKED THEM though grueling play after dying and dying and dying again.
Of course there is an easy mode where things hurt less and you can sell items without identifying them first, but you aren't able to unlock some things... and why would I want to play easy mode anyways?
Gameplay:
So the idea behind the game is that you're thrown into a randomized dungeon to explore for items and experience until you reach the bottom at which point you can leave and "reset" the dungeon which creates a new one to explore. There are various creatures throughout the dungeon, some of which are happy to live their own lives and some of which will attack on sight. There are also other adventurers and traps which you'll come across and more often than not you'll see one of the following screens:
There really isn't much to say about the gameplay of Rogue's Tale because you just can't get very far into it unless you get lucky and find all the right things for a successful run to get further than the first dungeon. In the time I've put into Rogue's Tale so far, I've only had one run which has been able to make it past the first dungeon... at which point I almost immediately died in the next dungeon.
I actually can't believe it, but I have less to say about Rogue's Tale than I had to say about Mall Empire. Even though it was a buggy game, there was at least some gameplay to get through.
Graphics:
I find the artwork and aesthetics of Rogue's Tale to be very nice. I do like the design and detail that has been put into the things that are seen, though I do find the information presented to be somewhat clunky. There's a lot of stats on the screen and not much to tell you what exactly does what... or why?
Replayability:
As much as I love being destroyed again and again in a game, I at least like to see some progress. Let me give you an idea of just how much progress I achieved throughout playing this game: 0 / 148 achievements. The top achievement is for reaching level 7; only 37.4% of players have ever reached level 7.
So while I would absolutely say the replayability of this game is HUGE, seeing at you enter a different dungeon every time you play and everything is different every time... I think it's the type of replayability that's actually... bad. Of course you want your game to be replayable to keep players wanting to come back and play it more, but we again come to the problem where if there's not progress into the game, then playing it again and again isn't fun anymore, it's just tiresome.
SUMMARY:
While Rogue's Tale isn't an expensive game, I still expect it to be a game worth playing in exchange for my money. I can't talk enough about how the gameplay is lacking for me. I'm sure there are others out there who love this sort of thing (hence why there are quite a few games of this type), but there are certainly better options than Rogue's Tale.
While I didn't enjoy the gameplay of Rogue's Tale, it is a working game that doesn't seem to be filled with bugs making an unplayable game. I'm giving Rogue's Tale 2/10 because I just can't stand bashing my brains against the same thing over and over hoping something different will happen; but it works and there IS a deeper game to be found in here... somewhere.
~ DaemonVirus
Now I do like RPG and rogue-like games, and I also like when games are difficult and don't hold your hand, so today we're going to review Rogue's Tale. This is another game that I really tried to like because I do enjoy these types of games, though you'll soon see just how frustrating a game like this could really be.
Released March 28, 2014 and currently available in on Steam for $5.69 CAD, Rogue's Tale is a turn-based dungeon crawler which is meant to give you the experience of playing one of those good old RPG games which used to use the ASCII graphics and more often than not killed you before you got anywhere interesting; that's the same experience when playing this game.
As seen above you get to create your character each time you play and can even start with bonuses IF YOU'VE UNLOCKED THEM though grueling play after dying and dying and dying again.
Of course there is an easy mode where things hurt less and you can sell items without identifying them first, but you aren't able to unlock some things... and why would I want to play easy mode anyways?
Gameplay:
So the idea behind the game is that you're thrown into a randomized dungeon to explore for items and experience until you reach the bottom at which point you can leave and "reset" the dungeon which creates a new one to explore. There are various creatures throughout the dungeon, some of which are happy to live their own lives and some of which will attack on sight. There are also other adventurers and traps which you'll come across and more often than not you'll see one of the following screens:
There really isn't much to say about the gameplay of Rogue's Tale because you just can't get very far into it unless you get lucky and find all the right things for a successful run to get further than the first dungeon. In the time I've put into Rogue's Tale so far, I've only had one run which has been able to make it past the first dungeon... at which point I almost immediately died in the next dungeon.
I actually can't believe it, but I have less to say about Rogue's Tale than I had to say about Mall Empire. Even though it was a buggy game, there was at least some gameplay to get through.
Graphics:
I find the artwork and aesthetics of Rogue's Tale to be very nice. I do like the design and detail that has been put into the things that are seen, though I do find the information presented to be somewhat clunky. There's a lot of stats on the screen and not much to tell you what exactly does what... or why?
Replayability:
As much as I love being destroyed again and again in a game, I at least like to see some progress. Let me give you an idea of just how much progress I achieved throughout playing this game: 0 / 148 achievements. The top achievement is for reaching level 7; only 37.4% of players have ever reached level 7.
So while I would absolutely say the replayability of this game is HUGE, seeing at you enter a different dungeon every time you play and everything is different every time... I think it's the type of replayability that's actually... bad. Of course you want your game to be replayable to keep players wanting to come back and play it more, but we again come to the problem where if there's not progress into the game, then playing it again and again isn't fun anymore, it's just tiresome.
SUMMARY:
While Rogue's Tale isn't an expensive game, I still expect it to be a game worth playing in exchange for my money. I can't talk enough about how the gameplay is lacking for me. I'm sure there are others out there who love this sort of thing (hence why there are quite a few games of this type), but there are certainly better options than Rogue's Tale.
While I didn't enjoy the gameplay of Rogue's Tale, it is a working game that doesn't seem to be filled with bugs making an unplayable game. I'm giving Rogue's Tale 2/10 because I just can't stand bashing my brains against the same thing over and over hoping something different will happen; but it works and there IS a deeper game to be found in here... somewhere.
~ DaemonVirus
Tuesday, 2 July 2019
Get Ready For The Best Time
Are you ready for the best time? What better time could there be then now to begin anew with all the stories and videos and reviews and everything that I've been working on?
Now, I could have made some posts and some videos over the past few weeks, but I just wasn't feeling it. I didn't think that forcing myself to make a video while sick would be of the best quality that I'm looking for. I didn't think that making myself stay up while tired would make for the best quality thoughts put onto a page. And to top it all off... the Summer Games Done Quick marathon started which played for a week straight. So I effectively took a vacation from my content production and in only a couple days I'll be taking another week for a REAL family vacation.
Now, I could have made some posts and some videos over the past few weeks, but I just wasn't feeling it. I didn't think that forcing myself to make a video while sick would be of the best quality that I'm looking for. I didn't think that making myself stay up while tired would make for the best quality thoughts put onto a page. And to top it all off... the Summer Games Done Quick marathon started which played for a week straight. So I effectively took a vacation from my content production and in only a couple days I'll be taking another week for a REAL family vacation.
This is great you see, because I have been sick for like the past month. Well, I was sick for a couple weeks followed by having a lingering cough for a week followed by... Well it's mostly gone but still a little bit there. And I'm sure the whole reason I got sick in the first place was because of the new influx of germs from Isabelle and all her adorable little friends coming and going from daycare all the time.
There was also the major adjustment which I'm still working on right now of Carley starting her new job which was part time at various different hours, but now is a full-time position all the time five nights a week... nights. Now I do love that Carley is so happy working and getting herself out of the house, building connections and relationships, and generally being happier. The hardest part is that we have to learn to exist together within the same household still seeing each other at least a little bit every once in awhile. If you have never worked opposite hours from your significant other, you wouldn't believe how difficult it can be to not see your significant other except for like two days a week. The rest of the time, one of you is tired and the other is not, or one of you stays up later than you should to see the other followed by being exhausted the next day. There really is no great in-between point. But for us, it is what is best for us right now.
So hey, I'm going to upload a few things while I have the time today, go on vacation, then get to work on finally making something of my everything I want to do with this here blog and everything else I do. During the time I'm gone, I will do my best to at least take down some thoughts of what has gone on each and every day which I would then be able to turn into a blog post very quickly after coming back.
I have to say, I love the job that I have and I love being able to share my life and my experiences with all of you fine people out there. Please continue to share with me any ideas you have for Content that you would like to see or hear. I have lots of great ideas but your feedback is the most important to me for what you want to see. You can always comment right on each blog page, comment on any of the links that I share out there, or even email me at Kyle.Welykholowa@gmail.com.
Enjoy yourselves out there, and look forward to more great content coming at you soon! ^_^
~ Kyle Welykholowa
There was also the major adjustment which I'm still working on right now of Carley starting her new job which was part time at various different hours, but now is a full-time position all the time five nights a week... nights. Now I do love that Carley is so happy working and getting herself out of the house, building connections and relationships, and generally being happier. The hardest part is that we have to learn to exist together within the same household still seeing each other at least a little bit every once in awhile. If you have never worked opposite hours from your significant other, you wouldn't believe how difficult it can be to not see your significant other except for like two days a week. The rest of the time, one of you is tired and the other is not, or one of you stays up later than you should to see the other followed by being exhausted the next day. There really is no great in-between point. But for us, it is what is best for us right now.
So hey, I'm going to upload a few things while I have the time today, go on vacation, then get to work on finally making something of my everything I want to do with this here blog and everything else I do. During the time I'm gone, I will do my best to at least take down some thoughts of what has gone on each and every day which I would then be able to turn into a blog post very quickly after coming back.
I have to say, I love the job that I have and I love being able to share my life and my experiences with all of you fine people out there. Please continue to share with me any ideas you have for Content that you would like to see or hear. I have lots of great ideas but your feedback is the most important to me for what you want to see. You can always comment right on each blog page, comment on any of the links that I share out there, or even email me at Kyle.Welykholowa@gmail.com.
Enjoy yourselves out there, and look forward to more great content coming at you soon! ^_^
~ Kyle Welykholowa
Thursday, 6 June 2019
The Honeymoon Adventure - Day Two - Calgary Zoo BONUS
Now what adventure would be any good without a bunch of selfies and a surprise event that we were lucky enough to be there for? Lucky enough for you, I am giving you exclusive access to these bonuses at the Calgary Zoo.
First thing's first. Look at this lovely place we found to enjoy the scene once we were running wandering through Eurasia.
Now that that's out of the way: They had shops in like every area and this is something that I had to take note of because you just don't get to see that sort of thing happen all too often.
The quality of that picture didn't turn out that great for some reason. Luckily, I don't think clarity is REQUIRED to see what's wrong with these items on sale.
Also... Fish. There were some indoor places around that had LOTS of fish. Carley has always wanted an active fish tank at home. Do you think this would be overkill?
Now for some pictures of Carley with animals. I've never seen someone so brave, getting that up close and personal with the animals. I guess they've been trained really well.
Wow! Even getting right up next to the cubs! How crazy is that? Actually... speaking of bears...
No wait, that's not an animal Kyle... it's just a log... let's try that again.
For those of you who aren't sure what that is... it's a bear. No, not a polar bear just a regular brown bear. Only... it's not quite brown. I didn't know they could come in different colours, but it turns out that they can! I mentioned the white bear in a previous post along with the bear training that we were lucky enough to catch if you're interested in reading about that.
I don't know about you, but I'm having fun. What about you Carley?
Oh... Uhh... is that giant petrified tree stump? That's right it is, and there's more where that came from.
There's my tough girl, being all tough and stuff after so bravely approaching those creatures. Hmm... I wonder what else we can find around here if we wander some more? Has Carley found something? Let's go follow her and find out!
Hey, what are you doing back there? Come out so I can take some beautiful pictures of my new wife!
That's better.
Wow! Wait... aren't those penguins a little bit....... big? I'm getting a strange feeling here.
Now we've had a great time looking around and enjoying the views. and things, but I think it's time to find our way out of here. We've been here at the zoo since it opened this morning and I'm thinking we should find somewhere else to explore or something else to do for a little while before supper.
Now... how to we get out of here...? Wait... is that...?
Okay, I'm glad you had fun, but now it's time to go for real.
So that's everything. For serious this time. No more bonuses. We did really have a lot of fun though. We managed to get there at opening time and with how much we looked around, we basically went through the whole place twice by the time we left... and I think that was around 3:00 if I remember correctly. We even got some souvenirs from the shop (everything is probably way too expensive just because of the location) including Carley's panda sweater and my stuffed wolf which has been happily added to my collection of stuffed animals over the years.
Now, believe it or not, we're finally done with the Calgary Zoo. Time to move on to other parts of the adventure.
~ Kyle Welykholowa
First thing's first. Look at this lovely place we found to enjoy the scene once we were running wandering through Eurasia.
Ooh, pretty. :)
Let's take a selfie! ^_^
Now that that's out of the way: They had shops in like every area and this is something that I had to take note of because you just don't get to see that sort of thing happen all too often.
The quality of that picture didn't turn out that great for some reason. Luckily, I don't think clarity is REQUIRED to see what's wrong with these items on sale.
Also... Fish. There were some indoor places around that had LOTS of fish. Carley has always wanted an active fish tank at home. Do you think this would be overkill?
Now for some pictures of Carley with animals. I've never seen someone so brave, getting that up close and personal with the animals. I guess they've been trained really well.
Wow! Even getting right up next to the cubs! How crazy is that? Actually... speaking of bears...
No wait, that's not an animal Kyle... it's just a log... let's try that again.
For those of you who aren't sure what that is... it's a bear. No, not a polar bear just a regular brown bear. Only... it's not quite brown. I didn't know they could come in different colours, but it turns out that they can! I mentioned the white bear in a previous post along with the bear training that we were lucky enough to catch if you're interested in reading about that.
I don't know about you, but I'm having fun. What about you Carley?
Oh... Uhh... is that giant petrified tree stump? That's right it is, and there's more where that came from.
There's my tough girl, being all tough and stuff after so bravely approaching those creatures. Hmm... I wonder what else we can find around here if we wander some more? Has Carley found something? Let's go follow her and find out!
Hey, what are you doing back there? Come out so I can take some beautiful pictures of my new wife!
That's better.
Wow, looking great in all the places. And rockin' those space pants!
Now we've had a great time looking around and enjoying the views. and things, but I think it's time to find our way out of here. We've been here at the zoo since it opened this morning and I'm thinking we should find somewhere else to explore or something else to do for a little while before supper.
Now... how to we get out of here...? Wait... is that...?
Uh oh, looks like we've stumbled into the Prehistoric Park.
Yes it's pretty, but we should be careful we don't want to get trampled or eaten, right?
Really Carley? don't you think you're a little bit close?
No really though... shaking hands with them?
Alright, alright, I'm not mad, you can come out of hiding now.
Alright, but did you have to kill it?
So that's everything. For serious this time. No more bonuses. We did really have a lot of fun though. We managed to get there at opening time and with how much we looked around, we basically went through the whole place twice by the time we left... and I think that was around 3:00 if I remember correctly. We even got some souvenirs from the shop (everything is probably way too expensive just because of the location) including Carley's panda sweater and my stuffed wolf which has been happily added to my collection of stuffed animals over the years.
Now, believe it or not, we're finally done with the Calgary Zoo. Time to move on to other parts of the adventure.
~ Kyle Welykholowa
Tuesday, 4 June 2019
The Honeymoon Adventure - Day Two - Calgary Zoo Five
Today I bring you to the final area of the Calgary Zoo: Eurasia. As you can imagine this areas has creatures which one would find in the area of Eurasia, and let me say, there is no shortage of cool creatures there that I would likely never see if not available to witness in a place like this.
Now I know Carley really liked THE WHOLE ZOO, but this may have been her second favourite part right here:
That's right. Real. Live. Pandas. Now she wasn't quite in awe as she was earlier with the Giraffes, but she was still pretty much pressed up against the glass to see them. And I will admit, they are kinda cute; I don't normally think bears are all that cute, but Pandas seem to be an exception for me. Also, I wasn't able to get a good picture of it, but they have much bigger teeth than I would have ever imagined.
Now the trail we were on which led inside to see the Pandas then went outside and into The Panda Market. I cannot describe to you the number of things inside that place that are ALL panda themed. Seriously... everything. Carley got an awesome hat inside which... is.... somewhere around the house right now. You'll see what I'm talking about in some following pictures.
Now I've said before that other areas were my favourite and as I think about it more and more, I realize that I have favourite things in every area. In the Canadian Wilds, it was the wolves. In Destination Africa it was the Lemurs. In the Dorothy Harvie Gardens, it was the amazing butterflies. Here in Eurasia it is without a doubt the Red Pandas. I didn't even know there was such a thing as a Red Panda before I saw them on this trip... isn't that crazy? Here's a look at how adorably cute they are!
And that covers everything there was to see at the Zoo. What a lovely place it was to visit. I'm really looking forward to the trip we have coming up in July 2019 when we're going to Winnipeg (there's a zoo there too I hear). I will absolutely be taking tons of pictures and telling you all about that as well once we go on that trip.
(I plan to be a little bit quicker with telling the story of our adventure next time though.)
~ Kyle Welykholowa
I've seen all sorts of cartoons of camels, and probably seen a couple in movies as well, but actually witnessing one for real is something entirely different.
I'm not a big fan of lizards, but I have heard of Komodo Dragons before thanks to The Kratt Brothers and Zaboomafoo. They really are as big as seen on TV.
Now I know Carley really liked THE WHOLE ZOO, but this may have been her second favourite part right here:
That's right. Real. Live. Pandas. Now she wasn't quite in awe as she was earlier with the Giraffes, but she was still pretty much pressed up against the glass to see them. And I will admit, they are kinda cute; I don't normally think bears are all that cute, but Pandas seem to be an exception for me. Also, I wasn't able to get a good picture of it, but they have much bigger teeth than I would have ever imagined.
Now the trail we were on which led inside to see the Pandas then went outside and into The Panda Market. I cannot describe to you the number of things inside that place that are ALL panda themed. Seriously... everything. Carley got an awesome hat inside which... is.... somewhere around the house right now. You'll see what I'm talking about in some following pictures.
Back outside we go to see the rest of the creatures. Turns out some cats LIKE to climb trees.
Now I've said before that other areas were my favourite and as I think about it more and more, I realize that I have favourite things in every area. In the Canadian Wilds, it was the wolves. In Destination Africa it was the Lemurs. In the Dorothy Harvie Gardens, it was the amazing butterflies. Here in Eurasia it is without a doubt the Red Pandas. I didn't even know there was such a thing as a Red Panda before I saw them on this trip... isn't that crazy? Here's a look at how adorably cute they are!
It may be difficult to see in this picture, but they have their own treehouse to hang out in.
Isn't that so cute? It's like... I don't know... a dog / cat / raccoon thing.
These were nearby the Red Pandas. I don't remember what they're called... but isn't Carley's Panda hat real cute like all the pandas we've seen? I MEAN TOUGH.
Finally at the end of the Eurasia trail there was a Tiger.
And that covers everything there was to see at the Zoo. What a lovely place it was to visit. I'm really looking forward to the trip we have coming up in July 2019 when we're going to Winnipeg (there's a zoo there too I hear). I will absolutely be taking tons of pictures and telling you all about that as well once we go on that trip.
(I plan to be a little bit quicker with telling the story of our adventure next time though.)
~ Kyle Welykholowa
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