New Game - Scramble with Friends

Another "with Friends" game released by Zynga this time the game of Scramble (which is basically the boggle board game)

You have three rounds to make as many words as possible in the time limit for each round.

This being a game by Zynga there has to be some in-app purchases & these are the tokens you see at the top of the screen, one is used for every turn you play. You can purchase more if you wish of just wait for the in-game clock to countdown to award you another token. In the free version this is set to 20 minutes or 10 minutes if you go for the ad-free version.

My username is obviously gospvg so send me an invite if you want a game.

New Game - Hero Academy

Another turn based iOS game, this time Hero Academy has you control your army to destroy your enemies crystals. You can only make five moves per turn from using items on your bottom bar to heal, cast magic, defend or any of the other special moves that you get dealt.

It's a simple game but only time will tell if it has any long term appeal.

My username obviously is gospvg if you fancy a game.
Just to add apologies if I take longer to play my turns, too many turn-based iOS games on the go...

Completed - Enslaved

First completed post of 2012, after playing nearly 60 hours of Skyrim, I needed a break (thus the lack of updates on the skyrim diary) so went back to playing Enslaved.The later chapters introduce you to another character Pigsy who you can't control but plays a vital role in helping you take over a big walking mech on your way to the final chapter at the Pyramid. It would have been nice if the player was given an option on how to end the game but it's decided for you by Trips actions.

Overall it is an enjoyable game & one unfortunately that did not sell enough to warrant a sequel being made. The excellent voice acting & great visuals are accompanied by a lovely musical score. It can easily be purchased for less than a tenner & one game I recommend you play.

I need to return to Skyrim but I also plan on playing some of my XBLA game purchased last year.

New Tuesday A to Z - G (games never played)

Grand Theft Auto (Various) None, nope not a single game a brief play at GTA2 I think for a few mins but that was it. Possibly the one game that defined sandbox gaming but I have never played it.

Gunstar Heroes (Megadrive) Another game by Treasure I have never played, some sort of cowboy riding shoot em up, I think?


Guitar Hero (Various) The music genre is just not for me, my brief stint of Rock Band at the previous ugvm meet confirmed that.

Gods (Atari ST) "A city lost in legend. An unconquered warrior seeking reward. A challenge laid down by the Gods. Taking the role of Hercules in the ultimate arcade adventure, you must scour the depths of an ancient city in your search for the great prize of immortality. Featuring 15 different weapon systems, 20 different potions and power-ups, and a host of intelligent monsters. Have you got what it 
takes to be a GOD?"

Um.. NO !!

Grim Fandango (PC) Another odd adventure game from LucasArts

Skyrim Diary - Entry 14 - Thalmor Embassy

Dear Diary,

I was in awe of Solitude, this huge city of stone towering into the skyline with it's many inhabitants busily walking around doing their business.

I saw a crowd and wandered over to see an execution taking place of a guard who had let in Ulfric. The guards name was Roggvir and his last speech was to claim his innocence and that the king was challenged with nordic tradition by Ulfric. I wanted to wander around this city to see it's many sights but I could not get distracted & walked over to the Winking Skeever and met up with Malborn who explained he works in the embassy and would help me smuggle in some items, so I handed over a dagger & some lockpicks.

Delphine was waiting for me by the stables and gave me some party clothes to wear instead of my armour. She then took the rest of my belongings and I climbed a carriage to take me to the embassy. Getting off the carriage I handed my invitation over to the guard and walked into the embassy.

I was met by Elenwen the ambassador and after a brief conversation went to the bar to speak to Malborn, he needed a distraction before we could slip away. Next to the bar a merchant was complaining that the barman would not serve him any drinks, so I purchased a bottle of mead from Malborn and gave it to the merchant. He was very grateful & agreed to cause a distraction, when everyone got his attention I walked behind the bar & Malborn unlocked the door into the Kitchen. He gave me the items I had given him earlier & asked me to be quick.

Delphine had asked me to search the embassy to see if I could find any information relating to the dragons, she was convinced that the Thalmor were involved. I equipped my dagger & sneaked into the first room to see two guards talking, one guard then walked off & the other stood by a bookshelf. I crouched over, killed him & hid his body. I then waited for the other guard to return & silently killed him before going upstairs to be met by a wizard. My stealth technique did not work and the wizard spotted me, so I equipped the armour & weapons I had looted from the guards, charged in and killed the wizard. I searched the rooms but found no information only some gems & gold to loot, a door led outside into a courtyard.

There were a few guards walking around & a wizard guarding the door to another building. I summoned a flame atronach to distract them & ran into the building. Inside was a guard who was startled to see me, I quickly killed him & ran into a side room where I found a dragon report & two dossiers on Ulfric & Delphine. A door led to an interrogation chamber where I killed some guards and found another dossier on Esbern. At this point two guards entered the room with Malborn and called for me to give myself up or they would kill Malborn. I decided at this point stealth was not an option so I equipped a sword and shield to attack the guards.

One of the guards had a key to open the door out of the chambers and into an underground tunnel, we followed this tunnel outside. Malborn was upset that he was stupid enough to go with Delphine's plan & that now he would be wanted by the Thalmor. I offered to help but he just stormed off cursing me & Delphine.

I only glanced over the documents I had collected earlier & now reading them carefully I learnt that the Thalmor were still actively looking for Delphine, they are trying to control Ulfric actions and possibly are using him as a pawn in their own plans. With the dragons they have no information on how or why they are returning but they are seeking another blade called Esbern who is an expert in dragon lore & think he may be hiding in Riften.

I walked back to Solitude & got on the carriage back to Whiterun Stables, my horse was ready waiting & we rode off to Riverwood.

Skyrim Diary - Entry 13 - The Plan

Dear Diary

I received a courier message this morning saying come visit a friend in Riverwood. The only friend I had, Sven died  so I assumed this was a message from Delphine about her plan.

Lydia was still asleep, before becoming the Thane of Whiterun & having Lydia given to by the Jarl I was a lone adventurer. The past few weeks I have had Lydia by my side when fighting dragons, searching dungeons & completing quests. She is a nice lady but sometimes a nord needs his own space, so I left her a note saying I'll be back in a few days.

The Whiterun Stables is owned by Skulvar, he is a rugged nord and very shrewd in selling his horses. Being the only stables around for quite some distance means he can sell his horses at a premium without any fear of competition. One thousand gold pieces is quite a lot of money to lay down for a horse that could possibly die in one dragon encounter but there is some satisfaction when riding horseback across the plains or up some icy mountains to be met by a lovely view of skyrim.

Marr was my second horse, my first Alli only lasted a few days and yes it died in a dragon encounter. I saddled my horse and set off for Riverwood. The path to Riverwood takes me pass some farms & meaderys that surround Whiterun, along a mountain pass and then across a bridge to enter Riverwood.

Delphine was waiting at the inn, she asked about Lydia and then went on to explain her plan to infiltrate the Thalmor embassy by getting me an invitation to a party. Once inside the embassy I should scout around for any information I can find but first I should go to the Winking Skeever in Solitude & speak to a wood elf 'Malborn' who works inside the embassy and will be able to help me. Delphine then walked off and said I'll meet you at the Solitude Stables after you have spoken to Malborn.

Solitude is the capital city of Skyrim & also the home of the High King before he died obviously at the hands of Ulfric Stormcloak. I have never been to Solitude and was unsure of the way so I returned to the Whiterun stables to leave Marr (my horse) and take the carriage.

Dead Island - Level Jumping with Challenges

Whilst playing on Monday my character jumped from level 9 to level 11. We had gone in search of some food tins to complete a quest & Gus had just activated his rage ability. He was shooting down zombies with his pea shooter whilst I was trying to whack with my baseball bat.

Then up popped the message that my character has levelled up, going to the abilities screen it said I had two points to use? Why? I queried this to the others? Is it a glitch? But they were too interested in splatting zombies to help me figure out what had just happened.

What had actually happened was I had completed a challenge and gain a load of XP points that made my character jump 2 levels. Like Borderlands you have various challenges in the game from driving around to killing zombies in a particular style and when completed you gain XP.

I used my points to upgrade my attack abilities by causing more damage & having my weapons last longer.

You can pick up so many weapons in the game that there is really no point in spending your money upgrading your favourite weapon because it will not be too long before you find something better. I now only spend my money on repairing weapons.

We completed quite a few quests but sometimes the quest line on the map did not appear so you will need to set yourself a custom marker to the location.

Dead Island always gets compared to Borderlands & if I am brutally honest it does not even come close to the enjoyment of Borderlands for me but & this is a big BUT it is still an enjoyable online experience with friends & you will have some laughs along the way.

Friendle - Your Turn or My Turn?

The online turn based gaming genre has some really good apps on iOS like Carcassonne, Disc Drivin, Words with Friends & Poker Pals. Friendle is another app I recently downloaded for free (I think it was a weekend offer) which offers you a big choice of games from Chess, Scrabble, Backgammon, Reversi & more. Some of these are presented nicely and work well I especially enjoy playing the Backgammon & Reversi games. My username is gospvg so send me an invite if you want a game from any of the seven on offer.

New Tuesday A to Z - F (games never played)

The Letter F, where do I start how about Fire Emblem (Various)
Considering I love strategy RPG's & this series is regarded as one of the best I have yet to play any Fire Emblem game.

Fear Effect (PS1) - I have always wanted to play this but just never got a round to it. I liked the look of the art style not sure if the game is any good?

Final Fantasy Tactics (PS1) - I lower my head in shame, there is nothing else to say.

Fable (Xbox) - I never had an xbox & when I did briefly I only played the Halo games. I enjoyed playing Fable 2 last year but with Fable 3 waiting I can't see me going back to play the first game.

Fallout 1, 2 & Tactics (PC) - I have never played any of the original fallout games & it was not until Fallout 3 that I got interested in the series. If it ever got updated graphics & an iOS or XBLA release I would be interested.

Enslaved - Hello Monkey & Trip

It was like visiting friends who you have not seen in years & then realising your mistake & asking yourself why did you drift apart?

Batman Arkham City, Rage & Skyrim have kept me away from Enslaved until today, I initially loaded up Skyrim to play & then thought no let's have a break & go back to Enslaved.

This game really is lovely to look at; visually beautiful, the soundtrack & voice acting accompany the story nicely. Having been away for so long it took me a while to remember what some of the buttons done, activate shield (RT), aim staff (LT) & charge attack (hold down x).

I continued from Chapter 7 in the game and Trip has arrived home to find that the slavers have attacked & destroyed her town. She is searching for any survivors & goes off ahead.

It took me most of this chapter to remember how to perform the various combat moves from take-downs to charged attacks. The game only allows you to use certain actions when it deems fit like crouching & using the cloud. I collected quite a few orbs and when I caught up with trip used them to upgrade my health & staff. There are masks in the game you collect which give you some sort of flashback but I don't think I have collected them all in the previous levels.

Chapter 8 was all about powering up a windmill & overloading it with power to cause the electrical circuits to trip out. This would allow access to the war room which might have some survivors. The windmill puzzle had three blades & opening the first was easy but the second had me stumped for a while before I figured out that only a particular blade will stop on the platform. Once they were all activated the circuits overloaded and you get to fight some mechs, there is red mech who pummels you if he gets hold of you but by using the charge attack you can stagger him to then let leash some attacks.

This chapter has a boss fight with the dog like enemy that charges around, you fight him in a previous chapter I forget which? I could not remember what I had done before so tried to just attack him but that did not work, then I tried a stun attack with my staff & that gave me some time to attack him before he got back up again. So using this method after a while I destroyed the dog like mech.

The cut scene at the end of chapter 8 was Trip going into the war room and hearing a recording of her fathers voice who laid dead on a chair, there was a close up scene of Trip's face but no tears were flowing. The voice acting was spot on but I think a few tears would have completed the scene.

Alas a couple of chapters was all I had time for but this is one old friend that I will make sure I do not drift apart from for a long time again. See you soon...

Skyrim Diary - Entry 12 - Dead Men's Respite

Dear Diary

When I went to visit the greybeards in High Hrothgar after my training they told me that during my adventures I would find other shouts (words of power that when I say them release an inner power from within me) to learn & words (these would allow me to increase the power of the shouts I have learnt). They then game the location of Dead Men's Respite & said a word could be found deep inside the barrow.

This barrow was quite far away so rather than go on horseback I decided to take a carriage from Whiterun Stables to the town of Morthal. It was very cold & wintry when we arrived and the sun was trying its best to break through the clouds, after getting some supplies we set off to Dead Men's Respite. The snow crunching under our feet, I decided to summon a flame atronach not because we were under attack but because the heat from it's flames kept us warm.

The path we were following led to a main road, the flame atronach spotted something in the trees and launched some fireballs, it was a frostbite spider (they are quite easy to deal with, you just need to make sure you are not bitten by them otherwise you may get poisoned). I was about to walk over and help kill the spider when Lydia shouted "Dragon !!"

I turned round to see an elder dragon had landed on the open ground behind us. Lydia fired off some arrows & the atronach who was busy with the spider all of sudden shot past me & started hurling fireballs at the dragon. Even the frostbite spider forgot about who he was fighting and joined in to attack the dragon.

With my Red Eagle sword equipped I jumped on top of the dragon & started attacking his neck, then plunged the sword into it's head. He let out a roar and slumped to the ground, whenever I kill a dragon it's soul rises and gets absorbed into my body. In some strange way I actually enjoy this feeling, it is like I am using the dragon's soul to make myself stronger.

The frostbite spider now remembered what it was doing and starting attacking Lydia, she gave out a sigh & planted her sword in the spider. The atronach had now disappeared, my conjuring kills only allow me to summon an atronach for a minute. I think this is something that I may be able to improve by either visiting a college or finding a trainer.

We encountered some mudcrabs & a frost troll who wanted to get friendly before we reached the barrow. Dead Men's Respite has a huge arch over the entrance engraved into the mountain, walking through the entrance led to a room where draugr bodies lay in their tombs. A table in the room have some wraps, engraving tools & a ruby dragon claw. I picked up the claw and that trigged a trap, some draugr came alive and started to attack us. I summoned a flame atronach & cast fireball magic at them to send them back to the dead.

Then a ghostly figure appeared and drifted out of the room, Lydia said "I think we should follow it" so we did, down the hallway into a burial room. The ghost went through a wall, there was a chain on this wall. I pulled the chain & the doors in the room rotated to open some walls & close others. Lydia said "It's a puzzle, we need to pull the right chains to find our way out". It took us a while to get out of the room & there were some booby traps that caught us out. We also awoke some draugr who were easy to kill.

Eventually we made it out & were met by two giant frostbite spiders, the flame atronach shot past me and started attacking one of the spiders & the other spider turned to attack Lydia. The flame atronach then let out an explosion of flames killing the spider it was attacking & disappeared. I helped Lydia kill the other spider & she said "what was that?" I replied "I think if the atronach is killed before the summon expires it lets out an explosion of flames". Lydia replied "best you summon another then", so I did.

There were two grates on the floor of this room but I could not see any path or door leading out of the room, then on the wall I spotted a chain which I pulled & then I heard a scream ""Aargh"". I turned round & Lydia was gone !! One of the grates had open & Lydia had fallen through, I rushed over to the grate & shouted "Lydia !!" "I'm fine !" came a reply "If a little wet " She had landed in a waterway flowing under the grates. I climbed down to join her & we followed the waterway to another room. Upon entering the room we were greeted by more draugr's, after killing them looking around the room I could see a wooden ramp in the far corner which led to an upper floor.

There was a caged door which when I opened triggered a trap & large axes were now swinging in the path ahead. "Now what?" said Lydia. The axes seemed to be swinging in a sequence & I could see a brief opening through them. "Wait here" I said to Lydia. When I was at the greybeards I learned a new shout that allowed me travel short distances very fast (Whirlwind Sprint). I gave my sword & shield to Lydia then turned to look at the axes, "What are you doing ?!" said Lydia but before I could reply I shouted the word "WULD!!" & shot across the path missing all the axes & reached the other side. There was another chain I pulled that deactivated the axes, Lydia walked over & thumped my sword & shield into me & said "Stupid !!"

We climbed a set of stairs to an iron door which opened into a hallway. There was an enchanting table at one end & a door sealed with some form of magic. The ghost we were following went down a slope into another room. We followed and were met by some more draugr's, there were also some booby trapped rooms with nice loot. We came to another area with a grate on the floor & the gate slammed shut behind us, we were surrounded by six or seven draugr. I summoned a flame atronach & equipped my red eagle sword, three or four had Lydia surrounded so I charged in to help her, attacking with the red eagle sword caused the draugr to catch fire & they were all killed swiftly. The flame atronach had dealt with the other draugr & we looted the bodies to find some nice gems.

We followed the ghost through the grate to a corpse which was clutching a book "King Olaf's Verse", the ghost then disappeared. "Now what?!" I said "The sealed door?" said Lydia. We backtracked to the sealed door & the ghost was waiting for us. He uttered some words & the seal was broken, I unlocked the door & the ghost went ahead through a puzzle door.

This was the same type of puzzle door I met in Bleak Falls Barrow when retrieving the golden claw for Lucan in Riverwood. I look at the ruby dragon claw I had collected earlier & engraved were three circular images of a wolf, eagle & another wolf. I rotated the door puzzle to this setting & place the claw inside which then unlocked the door.

We walked into a large burial room surrounded by stone chairs & a stairwell that led up to a tomb, I followed the ghost into the room & then the ghost boomed out "Hold it, it is time" and all the draugr that were sat on the stone chair came alive to attack. I quickly summoned a flame atronach & equipped my red eagle sword, there must have been at least ten of them coming at us from all angles. To my surprise the ghost drew a sword and was attacking the draugr, why was he helping us?

After we killed all the draugr the ghost then said "Arise ! Olaf, my vengeance is at hand". The ghost wanted revenge? Then more draugr came to life, the ghost charged forward to attack & I looked at Lydia, shrugged and went after the ghost to help. Reaching the tomb at the top, it opened & out stepped King Olaf One-Eye saying "insolent brat, DIE !!"

I could sense that King-Olaf was going to be a tough enemy to defeat so I stepped back to summon a flame atronach & cast a fire rune on the floor. With my red eagle sword equipped I attacked King Olaf to lure him over the rune & it exploded causing a wall of fire to surround him. With Lydia, the ghost & atronach also attacking we quickly managed to weaken him, I then dismissed the atronach & told Lydia to step back so the ghost could deal the fatal blow. The ghost looked at King Olaf & then walked over to a nearby door, playing a flute he vanished into a bright light.

Lydia said "I think the ghost wanted revenge"
"Yes, but why?" I replied

I looted King Olaf's body to grab a key & then walked behind the tomb to find a wall with dragon writing and a word glowing in blue. The word got brighter the closer I got & then I absorbed the word into my body & learned the word 'nah', this was the second word for the Whirlwind Sprint shout. To maximise the power of each shout I needed to learn the three associated words.

Using the door next to the tomb led to a small room with a chest, I looted the contents & followed the path back out of the barrow.

Lydia then looked at me said "Time to go home?"
"Yes" I replied

Poker Pals - Stats

After the initial following for playing Poker Pals, most of the players from UGVM have left, I still enjoy playing the game. I cannot get the app to log into my iPad with my details it only seems to register you one device with a username & you can't use that anywhere else.

From ugvm Satsuma, Haggis & Jochta still play & I usually do not concern myself with stats but looking at them against Satsuma

5 Wins / 11 Losses / 0 Ties make poor reading.

So the target over the next few weeks is try & reverse those stats in my favour.

My username if you fancy a game is gospvg

Dead Island - Revisited

Dead Island Revisited

After the Lost Planet 2 PMG it was time for another attempt at Dead Island. This time with The Claptrap Boys reunion tour, I decided to go with the Sam B character because of his skill to rejuvenate health. Jaimie went with Logan, Jon was Xian & Gus was left with Purna.

We all made it to the starting hut & received our first quest to liberate the lifeguard tower. Trying to find any decent weapons to use is difficult at the beginning of the game and you really just have to use oars or if you are lucky to find any knives. With a new character you are limited to only equipping 2 weapon slots (this will increase when you get to level 5) but you can carry a maximum of 12 weapons. Just keep an eye on the condition of your weapon because once it deteriorates you will be causing little or no damage.

Once the tower is conquered you have the option to purchase weapons from Wayne who can be found in one of the small rooms off the garage. Also you have access to a workbench to repair or upgrade your weapons. At the lifeguard tower you will receive lots of side quests to do various tasks from collecting vehicle parts to finding medical supplies.

The highlight of the evening was next to the Lighthouse is an area which is full of suitcases & boxes. Watching both female characters carrying boxes and walking down the hill was hilarious.

Overall an enjoyable 2 hours killing zombies more again same time next week.