ScuzzBlog: Diaries May 2023 Entry 2nd May 2023: Post 1: Absent from duty - Last month I was mostly. Absent from duty - Last month I was mostly. When I say last month I actually mean the last five months cus I started playing Warcraft again seriously from the end of November and only finished Shadow of the Tomb Raider last week. So here I am back in the retro saddle for a while. First up I got to catch up with Alexstrasza in Dragonflight who I last had an interaction with way back in the Lich King atop the tower in Dragonblight and the Wyrmrest Accord. That must have been late in 2008 following The Burning Crusade. Has it really been 15 years that I have been playing World of Warcraft. With 50 plus characters I have my work cut out levelling up to the new cap of 70 following the level squish and the changes to zone levels and levelling paths. I'm not a fan of what they did but I just have to live with it. I generally level fire mages and I take all kinds of routes thro the game. One character here hit 70 doing Battle Pets, another training cooking and my bestest and favourite mage simply doing archaeology. She has never ventured further than the old kingdoms and has never done a quest. Dragonflight is the latest expansion and basically you have four zones to work in. The game gifts you dragons to fly, though not the same as regular flying mounts and a bit of a handful. It is the usual trek to cap gaining rep with various factions. I didn't enjoy Dragonflight and instead spent most of my time using my new level status to farm old content for mounts and rewards. I was able to enjoy 25 man raids on Mythic and have a hoot and a half. I played Warcraft up until about a month ago and then switched over to Tomb Raider. Sadly Crystal Dynamics have ripped the heart out of my beloved game, a crime that I will never forgive. The modern world wants to dilute the sexual nature of the character [ there I have said it ] whilst pandering to the gun hungry shooters that frequent most games these days. So Lara dresses and looks like an old washer woman whilst being skilled as a trained killer. Both Rise and Shadow feature the baddies of Trinity and you will eventually come face to face with the big bad boss and have a shoot out till one of you falls. I didn't find the challenges very hard in each game. Just dreary for the most part. Whilst the game has some detours and level of freedom it is for the most part a linear path if you follow the story. The game is annoying cus it will trap you in a scenario where there is no escape. I travelled to a crypt and triggered a flood and was unable to get out cus the game simply starts at the point where she simply drowns. You always go back to the last checkpoint. She teams up with a guy who I am still scratching my head as to his use. Between them they manage to make the game even more dreary and depressing thro endless in game chats. Lara is now a stealth killer who disguises herself with mud and takes out the enemy by sticking a knife in their throat. There is one scene where an injured soldier scrabbling along the floor is mercilessly killed by Lara with a knife. I seriously got to hate this woman and her sidekick. I do hope they make no more of this game. The second film was thankfully cancelled so no more of that dreadful woman. I sense though that a new game will be announced later this year. Lara is having problems throughout this reboot with the loss of her parents and is prepared to destroy the world almost in her pursuit of her fathers killers. This is a woman that destroys pretty much everything she touches, kills every living creature in her path and kills enemies at will on sight. Worse is that she has no sense of remorse. In one zone she is very concerned about why the men of Trinity are frightened and then proceeds to blow their heads off. The game just sank down the drain when Crystal took over and destroyed everything it stood for. Anyhoo I took out the last boss by avoiding his fire and flame and sticking a knife in his back when he was stunned by my good looks and whit... oh and my large shot gun. On that Lara is then put to death, which I found a little odd, cus in the next scene some two days later she is back alive again. Maybe next time we will be more lucky. She ends the game sitting back in Croft Manor which has now been fully refurbished, and still reflecting her early years as a happy family. Ar hum! Better get on with some old computing I guess. Absent from duty - Last month I was mostly.

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Last updated 2nd May 2023

Chandraise Kingdom

Keep the Faith
scuzzscink 2023