Mychyl

Reviewing:: The Casualities of War (241496, @Dalghryn)

Playing as L38 Dark/Regen scrapper

~*~

When we last left this storyline, there was much sadness, and Sable had pledged herself to help SOLUS in the process of rebuilding... but without joining their SG.

Looks like Cap called in on that promise.

Traitors within Vanguard? In the modern storyline, there's certainly Rogue Vanguard, but they're driven by a desire for power; they're not directly allying themselves with the Rikti. Something's very wrong here. Time to find out what.

(Sidenote: minor typo in the M1 busy text.)

~*~

I finally got a chance to look at the Vanguard look. I like it; it's similar (in essence) and manages to portray that it's the oldschool look without being too understated.

I half expected the traitor to try and run, but instead he called a double-strength ambush. Good fun, that, but they dropped pretty easily, and from there it was academic.

Back to Cap, now that we're done here.

(As an aside, I'm just barely geeky enough that I had to take your lat/long coordinates and pin them down. It's definite bonus points that you not only selected coordinates that match Rhode Island, but that actually point to an area with similar enough geography to actually be Paragon City... were it not for another city already sitting there. XD)

~*~

Next, sounds like a good chance to beat up some Rikti. I'm all for that.

~*~

Lots of Rikti... one of those battle-on-the-Bulge concepts that always goes a little off in execution.

In this case, the pylons... erm, jamming towers... were taken out by the turrets before I got the chance to worry about them. The Raid Leader almost ran himself into turrets as well, but I dealt with him... and saved the SOLUS members on the ground. Time to go see what's next on the hit list.

~*~

Aha, that's convenient... looks like I was right, and the communicator came through in this arc, since it started in the previous one. Nice touch, keeping that detail alive.

Plus side: That means I shouldn't have to deal with the squigglies anymore. It was a nice concept at first, but it became annoying eventually.

Interesting, tying the Midnighters in with the war efforts. I have no doubt that they helped during the 1st Invasion, but there really isn't much documentation on Midnighter efforts at that time, and they didn't become such an open group until Castanella started recruiting heroes (the Lost Savior arc).

~*~

Hooray for collecting living SOLUS members, though from their new descriptions, they're all the worse for wear. Not so shocking.

Oh no. Not more bodies... surely there aren't...

OK, they're Rikti bodies. *sighs with relief*

Pretty straightforward mission. Collect all the heroes, collect Alistair McKnight, and defend the obelisk... I think. I just killed a bunch of Rikti that appeared, and it completed.

(Major qualm: Alistair looks nothing at all like the Alistair McKnight from canon. I couldn't find a picture reference for him, but if you run a villain through the Thief of Midnight arc, you meet him there, and you get a temp power -- Midnight Visage -- which gives you his appearance for 15 minutes. After I complete this arc, I'll swap to a toon with the temp power and screenshot the look for you.)

Back to find out what's next... I think, from the briefings so far, we use Alistair's magic to sneak into the hospital.

~*~

We apparently split up... Cap and the rest of the kids I met up with are fighting off the Rikti out in the city, while I'm heading to the hospital to free Empathy and crew there. Let's hope this all works out... sounds like Cap has some big "friends" to play with.

~*~

Even doctors have superpowers. Only in Paragon. (Well, and the Isles, of course.)

Empathy flies off to go help her husband et al, and I stick behind to find the rest of the people inside, and to destroy Dro'Vidt.

And then the building tries to collapse on me. Good fun, that.

~*~

And now, time for the final assault on the Rikti shock troops. Off to link up with any SOLUS heroes I can find, and beat on Hro'Dath once more.

~*~

OK, found (and defeated) Hro'Dath easily enough, but... I don't see any heroes. Are we sure there's heroes on this map?

Wait... glowie? Oh no... please, no...

I found... not what I came for, but I found it anyways.

~*~

I guess that's the end... I'd make a second comment about SOLUS and rebuilding, but... who's left to rebuild?

~*~

Storyline:: * * * * *

Gripping, just like the first. The continuing story of heroes fighting insurmountable odds... but not quite making it. They gave their lives to stop the Rikti from winning... that's worth something, at least.

Design:: * * * *

Very strong sense of design, as with the first. The only issue I found with the design was Alistair McKnight... he looked nothing like the Alistair you encounter in canon, so when I came around the corner and found him, I'd thought there was a hidden optional goal.

As I said above, I took screenshots to help (if you wish) to make Alistair look more like... well, himself, actually.

Here, here, and here.

Gameplay:: * * * * *

If you proceed to make any more of these sob stories, I'm gonna start docking you points for making me sob so much.

Seriously though, just like the first arc, it hurt to see so much death among the heroes of SOLUS, this time even moreso, since I've had the chance to get a little more familiar with the five in question.

Detail:: * * * * *

The clues, the maps, the missions, everything was well-choreographed and led smoothly from one piece to the next. This arc was as poignant, and as clear a memoir of what was lost, as the first one. Taken together, they paint a very vivid picture of just what was lost.

Overall:: * * * * *

Well, I know before I offered Sable's assistance in rebuilding SOLUS, but... it looks like that task will fall to (Brandon, was it?) when he's older and develops his taste for vengeance -- and the skills to back it up.

Until then, if he needs a place to crash, the Brotherhood of Fatesse always has some safe space.

Reviewing:: The Warburg Connection (364832, @FredrikSvanberg)

Playing as... not Sable, actually. Villain arc.

Playing as L37 Mercs/Pain MM.

~*~

Desslock, that sleazeball. He wants me to go make money for him in Warburg. Well, as long as he actually pays up this time, instead of foisting me off on more of his mentally-challenged cohorts...

~*~

Arachnoid caves. Why, of all places... well, I guess it *could* be worse.

Fortunata Hamilton is doing double-agent stuff with the Rogues? That's interesting. I would've expected Brick, except he's too much an idiot to stick to plan.

Blitz wants to sell this stuff? That isn't gonna make him too popular with Recluse, once Hamilton gets back to him. Not that he was popular before, what with leading the rogue units.

Either way, back to Desslock. Time for some small, unmarked bills.

~*~

Yea, just rob Hopkins, get the loot and go. Sure, easy.

Easy like my boot to your face, Desslock. Whatever, money's money.

~*~

Hopkins thought he could handle me... but when it got rough, he turned tail and ran. Typical Crey for ya.

Crey's trying to give up Revenant Hero data? In exchange for the ability to make Arachnoids? The Countess is slipping.

Anyways, got what I came for. Time to see how much Desslock is willing to offer me for these.

~*~

(Note: I know this is designed for VEAT play, but two errors of logic. One, superheroes and supervillains of Natural origin are, by Malta definition, still metas. Two, assuming your player is a Natural works well if the arc were VEAT-only. When my Magic-origin MM is told "Naturals like us [don't] need to worry", it's a bit... well, inaccurate.)

And now he wants me to go bust his buddy outta Longbow's "protective custody"?

Well, I guess it's gonna take a while for him to get the cash together for this stuff. Still, he better step on it... I'm not plannin' on running his errands all day.

~*~

Friend seems nice enough, for a wannabe Malta. Whatever, that's his business, not mine... if he wants to be the next gunslinger on some hero's chopping block, more power to him.

Just to be safe though, when I get word about the Ballista, I dump him off a couple rooms away. He looks kinda fragile. I don't think Desslock is gonna be too happy if I bring him back in more than one piece.

Easily enough done, get the kid out and back to Alan. Where's my money?

~*~

Oh, so we're gonna take this stuff and give it away, in some harebrained plan for revenge? Hamilton'd better be right; if this doesn't pay off bigtime, Desslock won't be helping any other recruits anytime soon.

~*~

Nice and quiet, all the way down to the glowie. Then Crey decides to show up.

And Hopkins came back. Too bad for him the hospital's too far away from here; he won't be back before we're gone.

Piece of cake. Back to tell Desslock to break out the champagne; this job's done.

~*~

Wait, what? No no, that wasn't in the script.

OK, time to go see the inside of an Arbiter's office. Something tells me I'm not gonna have much time to appreciate the decor, though.

~*~

I love the way Arachnos works... if you defeat someone who accused you of treachery, their accusations must be false; if they defeat you, the accusations stand. In this case, my "honor" is defended by taking her out. Back to let Desslock know the outcome.

~*~

Storyline:: * * * *

I do love an arc with twists and turns... but the problem is, the story of this arc felt a little flat to me. Desslock came up with this whole brilliant scheme... and then threw the whole lot away for a different sort of revenge. Sacrificing an old friend in the meantime. Even for a villain, even for Desslock, this seemed a bit off.

That being said, I liked the premise overall, and I liked how it flowed smoothly. Even the final twist (the end result, at least) was very well received by me.

Design:: * * * * *

I honestly couldn't tell if the Scorpion Gang guys were palette-swapped Gunslingers or custom DPs... either works, although of course Gunslingers would be more apropos, given. The map choices were inspired (which map was it that you used for the Scorpion hideout? I don't seem to recall ever seeing that one), and helped make the story tie together well.

Gameplay:: * * * * *

For all of my character's grumblings about wasted effort and wasted money (which is typical for him), the story was fun to play and kept me wanting to see what was next. The fact that (and yes, I didn't pay attention to how many missions there were, or which mission I was on) there was another mission after the point I'd expected to be the ending made this even more fun to play, because just when I think it's time for the wrapup... the final twist appears.

Detail:: * * * *

The clues, the information, everything about this arc shows that you put time and thought into it. Everything fit well, and there was just the right amount of flesh to the missions: not too little, but no WALLOFTEXT to overcome.

The only gripe I remember having is when Desslock mentions that you're both Naturals. As I said before, if this was one of the canon VEAT arcs, or somehow otherwise locked to VEAT-only, that would certainly work. However, with my character's origin being Magic, it was a bit off-putting.

Overall:: * * * * *

A good, strong arc, one that I'd just as soon see as an actual VEAT arc, instead of the current fare. (Though I shudder to think what my Executioner would've went through if I'd brought him, instead of the MM I chose. I haven't yet tried to solo EBs as any of my VEATs.)

Sorry gang, realized this morning that I had three separate programs I'd been putting off, and that all three were due today. So I had to take some time to plan, write and test them all.

Now then, my homework is out of the way (until tomorrow, at least), so I'm gonna fire up City and take Sable on a tour of today's arcs to be reviewed. ^^b

Reviewing:: Matchstick Women (3369, @Bubbawheat)

Playing as L38 Dark/Regen scrapper, old Heroic setting.

~*~

Quite an interesting way to open an arc... rather than using the contact traditionally, using it as a portal of sorts. Quite interesting, and very unusual. Overall, I like the effect.

Not that I'm sure what I'm supposed to be doing once I 'step through', though I'm guessing it has something to do with a bomb, but I like the effect.

~*~

I'm not certain why I would be destroying "fire control valves" in order to get the sprinklers working. Maybe they could be glowies instead?

Anyways, I beat up a bunch of pyros (both some cult, and random pyros that flocked to the scene just to cause chaos) and some superhero (I assume) who thought I was there to cause it. So back out to find out what that was all about...

~*~

Oh, that's right. I don't find out things from the contact in this case.

But now it's showing me a building and the cultists welcoming me? OK, I guess we'll find out what's going on there. Maybe.

~*~

Um. OK, so this lady thinks I'm on her side, because I took out the hero when she attacked me? Sorry, I'm into darkness, not fire. But whatever, let's see what we can learn.

I'm... in their compound? Wow. These guys invited me in with open arms, like that? They'll never survive in this city that way.

Fatal error: I'm stuck at the "meet someone" objective. The only NPCs that react to me are Burnt Match (talks when I move into or out of range, pathed into a corner after first contact and does not move from there) and Emily Metzer (follows me -- except past the Igneous mobs -- and has text for into/out of range). Got all the glowies.

*Reset after fatal error... retrying with author's suggestion to kill the Igneous. Provided it lets me this time.*

OK, that did it. She didn't talk until I attacked the Igneous (not certain why it didn't let me last time), but once I took them out, I was able to escort her to the door. So that's figured out.

~*~

So, from the book, it sounds like the Match women are... somehow baptized in flame to form the beings which I've seen. And now there's some to save... so off I go.

~*~

The repurposed Seneschals are a nice touch.

The premise is getting... odd. They're burned to increase their powers... and theories about their increased powers being from a demon dimension.

~*~

And now, their leader wishes to purge them all with fire to cleanse them. Bad idea?

~*~

I defeat Emily, but apparently fail to save her. And the flames do cleanse her, in a manner of speaking...

~*~

Storyline:: * * * *

An interesting premise, though I feel the story cut itself short. It almost feels like there should've been more to the actual arc, length-wise. (That might be since there's only 3 missions with real combat in them.)

Design:: * * * * *

It helps that you've been using a lot of these looks and ideas in your actual characters as well, if (mainly) heroic versions thereof. The descriptions were strong, the costumes worked well for the concept and as a set. The choices of maps were all very strong, and went well not only with the story but with the overall flow.

Strangely, the only person who seemed out of place through the entire arc was the heroine from the first and third missions. What was her real purpose in this?

Gameplay:: * * * *

Quite fun, my issues with the second mission nonwithstanding. Perhaps use the Matchbook Collector's unaware dialog instead of the second option, for the clue about defeating the Igneous. That, or make the "meet someone" a little more clear.

I especially like the fact that the 2nd map is effectively combat-free... I wasn't even aware you could actually do that for an entire map.

Detail:: * * * * *

You've definitely put time and effort into this arc; the detail is excellent. The semi-hidden contexts ("The Hunchback of Notre Dame", using the seneschals) either give it a subtle balance (for those who aren't as quick to pick up little clues) or broaden the concept and balance significantly.

Overall:: * * * * *

For a short arc, this takes an interesting idea and turns it into a quick (but fun) bit of MA.

2nd Review:: Duplicity (85847, @Soul Storm)

Playing as L38 Dark/Regen scrapper, old Heroic setting.

~sync'd to L45 per arc parameters

~*~

Time for a re-review. I'll focus mainly on my initial comments, and I'll skip a lot of the minor sidenotes. (This will be my modus operandi for any future re-reviews, as well.)

~*~

First mission, the only thing I noticed different (I think, maybe) was that the patrols had dialog. (Did they originally? I don't recall.) Their wandering around, saying "What are you doing here?" seemed a little weird... since I was nowhere near them when they said it. An ambush running at me, I could see... or something like "There's an intruder" or "$name was spotted in the area". More of a nitpick than anything.

Not seeing any change on missions 2 or 3.

I like the debrief from 3/briefing into 4 better this way. It makes better sense overall, as well as solidifying the logical leap of consciousness.

Definitely prefer not having the spoilers in the navbar.

The clues were useful, and a lot better than the old spoilers.

The only other thing I really have to say would be to update the souvenir to match. (It still says you are in hiding for 3 weeks in the souvenir synopsis.)

Aside from the clues from the first two forms of the Shapeshifter, I didn't see too much additional flesh really.

New ratings::

Storyline:: * * * *

Design:: * * * * *

Gameplay:: * * * * *

Detail:: * * * *

Overall:: * * * * *

Definitely a strong improvement over the original.

Reviewing:: Matchstick Women (3369, @Bubbawheat)

Playing as L38 Dark/Regen scrapper, old Heroic setting.

~*~

Quite an interesting way to open an arc... rather than using the contact traditionally, using it as a portal of sorts. Quite interesting, and very unusual. Overall, I like the effect.

Not that I'm sure what I'm supposed to be doing once I 'step through', though I'm guessing it has something to do with a bomb, but I like the effect.

~*~

I'm not certain why I would be destroying "fire control valves" in order to get the sprinklers working. Maybe they could be glowies instead?

Anyways, I beat up a bunch of pyros (both some cult, and random pyros that flocked to the scene just to cause chaos) and some superhero (I assume) who thought I was there to cause it. So back out to find out what that was all about...

~*~

Oh, that's right. I don't find out things from the contact in this case.

But now it's showing me a building and the cultists welcoming me? OK, I guess we'll find out what's going on there. Maybe.

~*~

Um. OK, so this lady thinks I'm on her side, because I took out the hero when she attacked me? Sorry, I'm into darkness, not fire. But whatever, let's see what we can learn.

I'm... in their compound? Wow. These guys invited me in with open arms, like that? They'll never survive in this city that way.

Fatal error: I'm stuck at the "meet someone" objective. The only NPCs that react to me are Burnt Match (talks when I move into or out of range, pathed into a corner after first contact and does not move from there) and Emily Metzer (follows me -- except past the Igneous mobs -- and has text for into/out of range). Got all the glowies.

Relogged to see if the last person just loaded inside the wall or something... I tried literally everything else first.

Same results. I'm gonna withhold rating on this arc for now, and give you a chance to fix whatever is going on in the 2nd mission. (You may wish to check the others, as well, to make sure it's playable.) Let me know when it's figured out and I'll complete my review.

Since this review wasn't complete, your other arc will remain in the secondary queue, at the top of the list.

Finished review below.

Reviewing:: The Galactic Protectorate - 01 (47143, @Unknown Hero)

Playing as L38 Dark/Regen scrapper, old Heroic setting.

~Level sync to 40 per arc parameters

~*~

Synapse -- well, an alternate Synapse -- needs some very mysterious help. Provided this isn't some Praetorian-style trick.

Well, let's find out. Off to rescue people.

~*~

OK, so I saved some members of the "Resistance" from a bunch of very interesting enemies. Kudos on the customs so far; they don't seem overpowered (which is too often the case), and they fit well together.

And apparently Recluse was defeated in that reality... but sad? I wonder...

~*~

OK, apparently a lot of heroes died taking down Recluse. Hence sad.

And it looks like they got the location of some comm base out of the hostages. (I wonder if I should read very far into Synapse almost calling them prisoners.) Guess it's time to go check it out.

I'm starting to seriously get a Praetorian vibe off of this arc. I wonder if it's just me...

~*~

OK, a note about the custom group. Overall, I still like them, and they aren't that painful -- to this character. However, you have two different healers, which means they can (and, on this map, often do) spawn in the same groups. Also, grav/kin is an entirely nasty amount of -spd... I have resist slow, but not everyone will, so this might be very dangerous for some. Also, having to deal with Drain Psyche (not 100% sure who was doing that) is pretty vicious... my /regen was suffering, so I can imagine what that would do to other builds.

So, it looks like the Rikti aren't the only ones out there interested in conquering Earth... and we lost the battle, but Statesman got them to agree to a cease-fire while he negotiates on our behalf. I wonder where in the timeline we are, compared to the "dates" given on the invasion records.

And then the important info, which leads me to another base. Time to take the info to their Synapse.

~*~

And, of course, villain stereotype #3, they never stick to their promises. Manti is gonna be executed, so I need to rescue him *and* plant disinformation that the execution was completed. Interesting.

~*~

I take back what I said before: there's 3 different healer minions, not 2. Mind Medic, Nebula, and Hydro Healer. Potentially 4 if Equator can use Transfusion... I haven't had one do so yet, thankfully... but I have to assume it's possible, since they're worth XP -- and thus must have all their standard powers available.

What I said above, about stacked -spd and overmuch healing? Yeah. Took me about 5 minutes to clear the room Manticore was in... just because I had multiple stacked Siphon Speed and gravity debuffs on me, and there were 4 healers in the room. (And when I entered, I managed to aggro all three groups, hence all the fun.)

OK, Manti's safe, so time to head back to Synapse and see what's next.

~*~

Um... nothing's next. Well, not until the next arc, at any rate. That was kinda unexpected... I expected some kind of plot hook to end the arc, but since it's an ongoing story... I dunno.

~*~

Storyline:: * * * *

An interesting story, one I wish didn't end without warning. I truly expected to talk to Synapse, maybe for him to have me and Manti work together to take on one of the 12 generals. There's a common storytelling approach which is known as in medias res, or in the middle of things, but I promise that they mean for the beginning and not the ending. It's like a cliffhanger... except cliffhangers mean something's going on when it dead-ends and says "stay tuned next week" or something similar. I guess it works... it'll make people want to play the next piece so they can see what next, since there's no closure from the first arc. Possibly.

Design:: * * * *

I mentioned a couple cautions about super-combining healing pools, and I also mentioned the pains of grav/kin as an enemy setup.

That being said, it'll provide a higher challenge for those seeking it... or a light challenge for those prepared (as my character *mostly* was, since I had no serious issues til the last room).

Overall, though, I feel there's a definite solidarity in the Galactic costume, and I liked the fact that everything had a well-defined place and purpose in the overall story and the alternate universe.

Gameplay:: * * * * *

Aside from the Room of Time (as I'll now be calling that final room, since I spent more time there than anywhere else in the arc -- not necessarily by choice), the arc was very fun to play, and quite interesting. I find myself looking forward to the next installation in the series, if only because it doesn't feel complete -- I feel like I've made a small difference, but I don't feel like I'm done there.

Which is, in effect, appropriate. Since I'm not done there.

Detail:: * * * * *

The clues, the descriptions, everything shows that you've given thought and effort to setting up this alternate universe. I have a feeling that I understand the timeline and what has happened thus far, and am excited to see what's coming next as a result.

Overall:: * * * *

I rounded down because, as a standalone arc (which it partly is, even though it's only the first chapter of something bigger), it doesn't feel complete... and that bothers me. I know logically that it will continue, that it's only part of an ongoing saga... but just the same, having it dead-end where it did feels off, and it's off-putting.

That being said, as I mentioned before, I'm still looking forward to the next chapter, when I get to it.

Reviewing:: Challenge of the Dwarves (91044, @WillT)

Playing as L38 Dark/Regen scrapper, old Heroic setting.

~Level sync to 41 per arc parameters (41-41... interestingly arbitrary number, I'm sure there's a reason)

~*~

OK, so in the medieval realm this guy is from, the dwarves need to show up and help fend off VOlde... I mean, the Nameless One... and this guy needs me to go get the troops moving, because he can't... he's outcaste.

Realistically, if they won't listen to their own blood, why would they listen to someone from another world? But I digress. Saving other worlds isn't this character's speciality, but maybe there's a handsome reward. Gold, jewels, magical items, the standard medieval-world-spoils fare. We'll see.

~*~

Hmm, so the spawns of the deep look like a who's-who of various groups. I've already fought an eyeball (gotta love the Rularuu), some reclaimed DE (with their original names... if they're actually trolls, why not swap the name as well?), a vine (I'm assuming part of the CoT villspec, not sure since I've never done one), a couple Tuatha, and whatever the Edderwode were again... I somehow spaced that already. (The Warriors don't necessarily need to be renamed, unless you want to name them Unseelie Warrior or something similar.)

And then a small group of dwarves. Very convincing, although since they're normally more stout, perhaps taking Huge and shrinking them down would portray that better?

Just noticed... dunno if this has come up before, but the vines you used give gimped XP/shinies. Which might be an annoyance, since they seem to be the predominant enemy so far (aside from the opening patrols and the dwarves). Roughly 1/3, so I'm assuming these used to be farmer stock. MA cheatfarms have a lot to answer for, in my opinion... a lot of stock stuff was nerfed badly to offset for people cheating with them. >.>

Ah yes, now I remember, the Edderwodes are Arachnoids. Interesting choice, since they make me think of driders more than anything.

On the goblins (or at least the 'gobling stickers'), I like the look a lot, but they look more like gnolls than goblins to me. Perhaps it's more of a RPG system debate, but I expect my goblins to be green and not furry. So I was thrown for a moment.

The closing clue reads almost like a copy from the D&D 2nd edition rulebook on dwarves, minus the reference to rune wizards.

OK, so I'm attuned. Back to the contact to see what's next.

~*~

So, step 2 is beat the King and all his liegemen into submission, so that they listen. I guess force of strength will make them respect me... maybe? And then read to them the documents Sidus gave me. Let's have a look... No clue? How am I supposed to read papers that don't exist?

Ah well, perhaps I'll make something convincing up. I'll just rant on about the Undying One and they'll believe me.

~*~

A minor note: Usually, when setting a custom name, try to capitalize all important words, like you would the title of a book. "Disgruntled miner", for example.

Just to see, I skated the mission, and it cleared when I took out the King and his entourage. The wording in the briefing makes it sound like this would be a clear-all, however; perhaps either change the wording to make it sound more like his immediate group, or make it a clear-all, to resolve that.

No clue for the entire mission... so I have no idea what I told him, just that he didn't feel like listening.

In either case, I beat the king up, so back to the contact.

~*~

Wording issue... "can apprehend the truth" should be comprehend, not apprehend. Or is the King going to arrest the concept of truth?

Now, off to recover the looted weapons and armor from the goblins. And take out their leader. Feels a bit like busywork, but I'll go with it. Saving their world is starting to feel like it's more work than it's worth.

~*~

Why am I smelling sewage? Have they discovered the architectural secret of running water (a prerequisite for sewers) in this world already? Or are the caves simply befouled with goblin waste? If the latter, perhaps there's a better way to word that while still getting the intent across.

Found a couple new minions of the deep, one of the being a Hydra spawn as a fungusman (why not use the DE fungoids?) and the other being a Naga (still called Cobra Hatchling -- why not Naga, or Naga Hatchling?).

And then I find the Goblin treasury. Nicely done, confining the spawns to one place, so that it looks like an actual treasury, rather than simply letting them scatter. Shows the supposed intellect of the leader, keeping them in a single location. No clues for the weapons and armor, alas.

Note about Blacktooth's description: The 'H' on Hobgoblins (right at the beginning) is cut off. That aside, nice job as well on the Hobgoblin look (I'm assuming, from his description, that him and other hobgoblins -- which I've not yet seen, likely due to my difficulty -- are identical in appearance.

OK, I beat him up, then I beat up his mysterious sidekick, who... looks like a lich. And then summons zombies. Fun.

Back to the contact with the results.

~*~

Czarodziej? Gezhundeit. Also: So there's more of this Valentin? How fun.

OK, time to save the temple from the advancing goblin-and-Russian army. Off I go.

~*~

And this group has managed to summon a bunch of BNP zombies. Which die as easily as the originals, of course. No summoner to be found? Have they mastered the ability to create zombies without having to guard them and spurn them into action? That's pretty impressive.

Found another Russian, and this one was looking for artifacts. In a temple full of magic. There's a good chance he's on the right track... but I cut his exploration a bit short.

OK, found an actual Fungoid-style enemy. I see now that you were using both in the group... I'm still not 100% about using the Hydra spawn as a fungus, but... if it works for you. >.>

OHAI Minotaur. Nice to meet you, fancy seeing you here.

I just realized, I don't think I've ever tried to solo a Mino as /Regen before. Those hits HURT. A LOT. Was -- only slightly -- tempted to quit and swap to my MA/SR instead... Elude means never having to say owwie.

They were waking up Balt? But... wouldn't they want Balt to stay stuck asleep? Balt is the god of their enemy... Oho, they thought to bind it. Bind an avatar. Of a god. Sure... that'll happen without divine power.

Anyways, this gambit is played out. Back to find out what's next on the laundry list.

~*~

OK, now I go do that magic thing to close off the tunnels. Oh, and destroy the leaders. Sounds like a picnic... although hopefully this one doesn't have a Minotaur Warlord too. One of those was enough. ^^;

~*~

Aha, I see the King. Normally, I'd treat him as a potential kill stealer, but on the off chance I have to deal with another Mino, I'll keep him.

Yup, called it. Total kill stealer. Ah well, it means I'll be done sooner, and able to possibly fit another arc in. So I'll go with it.

Minor note: Dispel only has one 'l'.

Slow-mo dwarf running towards the entrance. Weird.

......Not sure what I think of squall elementals being infused with darkness and set loose on the caves.

OHAI CYCL... *garbled battle*

Too bad that the King got lost way back wherever, but the Cyclops was much easier for me. Probably because he stayed -ACC, as opposed to the Mino. Either way, it's over, so time to press on.

Somehow, on the way in, I missed the Russian, so I had to backtrack, in which case I picked the King back up... and didn't get to abandon him before I found the last general. So now it's over.

OK, back out to finish the arc. Overall... well, I'll get to that in a minute.

~*~

Storyline:: * * *

It's half of the RPGs of the last 20 years, thrown in the blender and set to frappe.

Which is not, in and of itself, a bad thing. However, in the retelling, I feel it lost a good chunk of its integrity. This arc is exceptionally text-light... the busy text is almost all (or was it all?) one-liners. As were one or two debriefs. And not many clues at all. This means a lot of opportunities to expand on the story, as far as what's actually going on, are lost. Yes, we've all played certain RPGs and MMOs with dwarves and trolls and goblins. However, there's a lot of expansion on the individual story that could've been done.

Design:: * * * *

While I made a few references to things that could've worked differently, those weren't necessarily to say the existing setup didn't work.

I feel you created a couple of nice, strong groups of stock recycles. It worked well, overall.

The Rune Maiden I fought didn't leave much of an impression on me... partly because she died before she got more than a couple attacks in, and there was only the one. (That's likely a flaw in me playing on easymode.) She was an earth controller in part, I got that much from fighting her... she tried to immob me, but the nice thing about scrappers is, they almost all get anti-mez powers.

Using the Mino and Cyclops serve to reinforce the fantasy feel, although (not discounting the explanations given in clues and descriptions) they did feel a bit out of place. That was probably a personal thing, though.

The Red Wizards... not much for me to say about them. Necro/Dark Assault was a pretty safe combo, though it probably would get nasty on the -ACC on higher settings... my saving grace being that THEY couldn't hit ME, because as a dark/regen, I have my own -ACC.

Gameplay:: * * * *

Overall, it was entertaining enough that I never felt bored. The story (what I got of it) flowed well between the maps, the monsters, and the battles. (As I mentioned above, though, the supposed kill-all on map 2 isn't really. Might be well to change one or t'other.) I'm strongly hoping that the second part of the story has a lot more story to it, because if it's a case of "second verse, same as the first", it'll be old hat when I do it, in fairness.

Detail:: * * *

I had to dock for the lack of documents (be it just a notice that I got them, but can't understand them, or actually some real info about the danger the Undying One poses), and further for the multiple one-liners. If you were running low on space, I completely empathize, and hopefully once i17 releases you'll be able to pad this with some more text.

A lot more text. I like to swim in the text like some sort of literary Scrooge McDuck. Just jump in there and do a backstroke.

OK, enough punishing that metaphor. But you get the point.

Overall:: * * * *

It's entertaining, and I'd love to replay it once it gets more text/story/detail to it. More meat on its bones, "Doctor's" orders. I believe it has the capability to become a truly great arc... if only it didn't feel like someone tried to turn D&D into a hack-and-slash with a hint of roleplaying added to pacify the nerdy player.

Sorry guys, that's it for today, have a fundraiser event to get to.

I'll be back tomorrow morning. Depending on how timing works out, I'll get either one or two arcs then... then it's back to my "weekend" Monday morning.

I'm sure we all remember what hectic fun that can be. :3

Reviewing The Coldest of Wars (299972, @Celestial Nemesis)

Playing as L38 Dark/Regen scrapper, old heroic setting

~ Level sync to 40 per arc restrictions

~*~

My apologies in advance; I wanted to do an arc today, but tempus fugit, so my overall opinions (aka the stop-every-10-seconds-to-write jumble) will be omitted. I'll be sure to include overall opinions before the ratings, as well as anything which sticks out as questionable/bad/whatever.

~*~

First mission was fairly quiet overall. Clues were basic but fleshed out the story a bit... fairly standard, being that all the mobs were stock. Good play on existing canon.

Second mission sendoff makes this sound like it should be a timer... is this a misunderstanding? Was this originally a timer but it was changed?

Very interesting twist, which makes the title make a lot of sense, on both levels.

Interesting choice to use snowmen as guardians of the machines; I generally like it, it gives the map a sense of cold which doesn't really work otherwise. (We, alas, don't have access to any snowy maps... the Winter Lord GM map or the Baby New Year map would be nice if they'd give them to us.

The final mission is a pretty straight-forward fight against the mostly-unknown threat. I like the group; they have the feel of something I'd expect from Russia during (the CoX alternate-universe version of) the Cold War.

~*~

Storyline:: * * * *

Good, strong story with a nice nod to the existing Revenant Hero Project arc, though I think that was from the previous Crey contact, not Kellum -- pretty sure Kellum's arc is the one in which you investigate Ghost Falcon's disappearance and find out the truth about the Countess.

My only minus for this arc is, the entire thing (once you find out about the Soviets) was pretty straightforward. Fighting Crey for info about their Revenant Hero doings, then investigating the tech (and the Soviets) -- from the time I got the blueprint, I could see the "eternal winter" aspect. And a nuclear payload as Plan B, plus cleaning them out after stopping their plan, is very formulaic.

Strong, yes. But formulaic. I do so like a good twist... and that's all this arc was missing.

Design:: * * * *

Your enemy group doesn't have any glaring errors, and overall they're a solid group that I can fully expect to have emerged from Soviet Russia. I question your choice of marking the text as Russian and spelling it out, rather than using Russian (by knowledge, or by Googling an English/Russian translator and using the gibberish output it's bound to give you) -- I can't speak for everyone, but my heroes don't know any Russian, and while I suppose I could pick up a translator from FBSA, if it came to that, I wouldn't have had any reason to do so before mission 2.

The map choice was spot-on, and the clues worked well within the story. The maps, unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, since I was short on time for my run), were a bit quiet.

Gameplay:: * * * * *

The arc was definitely fun to play, even as rushed as I was. I regretted not being able to take more time with the arc, which for me is a sure sign that I was having fun with it. Would've liked (ideally) to see a bit more exposition, but what you have here works very well.

Detail:: * * * *

The detail, overall, was quite good. The descriptions for the customs seemed a bit short (I seem to be saying this quite often... perhaps I'm a little jaded on that?); the clues were good, but the missions were often fairly plain and simple. Not a huge thing, but enough that I felt it warranted docking a point.

One thing that would've helped both detail and storyline, at least in my case: what if there was an additional mission, say in the #3 position, where you see the Soviets turn their backs on the Crey? Up until I found the security chief in the last mission, being held captive by the Soviet bots, I thought Crey was supporting the Soviet effort to freeze over the city. I didn't see any info leading away from that point of view; I guess, if you meant that as a half-hearted twist, it'll work that way, but fleshing it out gives you a stronger twist, as well as the chance to add a bit more detail.

Overall:: * * * *

I appreciated the arc, and truly did enjoy playing it. I cannot in all honesty say it's the best arc I've ever played, but it's a strong showing, and I'd look forward to see what it could become if you add just a hint more to it.

Looks like I'm going to be slowing down until Monday for certain.

On the bright side, I will definitely have plenty of time on Monday. Which means more massive arc review explosion then.

I should be able to get one done tomorrow, and one or two Sunday morning.

Until then... ^^;

• 5th Elemental (Focus on Custom Characters in arcs)
• Airhead
• Aisynia (QPQ)
• Beach Lifeguard
• Bubbawheat (In Character, Time Travel themed)
• Citizen Razor
• GlaziusF (Read first post for details)
• Grinning Spade (Trolly) (Concentrating on Villainous content)
• JadKni
• LaserJesus
• Lazarus (semi-QPQ)
• Master Zaprobo (In Character)
• Mychyl (See the first post for rules and regulations.)
• MrCaptainMan
• OzzieArcane
• PoliceWoman (QPQ)
• Red Warlock (Focus on CoH neighborhood stories)
• Tangler
• Talen Lee
• TerminusEst13 (Focuses on BAD arcs)
• Venture
• Wrong Number (short) (Humor Arcs, or Short Arcs 1-3 missions, QPQ)

Review sites

• City of Guides - Mission Architect
• CoH Mission Review
• Mission Architect Advanced Search Site
• Choosing the right reviewer: This lists most of the currently active reviewers and gives a short synopsis on their style of reviewing in order to help you choose who you want to review your arc.

Note: QPQ = quid pro quo: Play and rate/give feedback to the reviewer first in order to get a review on your arc, some are more lenient on this than others. Also, tends to have a shorter queue.

Also, some non-QPQ have more than one reviewer with some not accepting new submissions, check the most recent page for up-to-date information.

Semi-QPQ means that the reviewer only requires it for longer, in depth reviews and not for short, quick reviews.

Reviewing:: The Consequences of War (227331, @Dalghryn)

@Mychyl

Playing as L38 Dark/Regen scrapper, old Heroic setting

~L40 due to arc sync

~*~

Yay, reliving Rikti Invasion 1.0 history. (I wasn't around when it went down the first time... I showed up in the time when the Crash Site was a desolate place full of nastiness and little else.)

So, Fireball's SG needs some backup. Whatever, the Brotherhood can lend me out for a few... we've got people to spare right now. Let's get underground and figure out what to do while Toasty works on the signal unjamming.

(Sorry, my first time dealing with a being made of pure flame. I'll lay off the jokes any time now... :P)

Also, nice summary of the War's start -- is this taken largely from the website, I wonder? As an FYI, assuming you were trying to do military time in the clue, it would be 0730 (or 1930, if it's PM) -- otherwise, including AM/PM would be useful. ^.~

As for the plug for the website, I doubt there's many who aren't familiar with the events, at least secondhand, but good plug for those few who need it.

~*~

...Is this before we could understand Rikti-speak? I zone in and see something in a combination of different character sets. I see Cyrillic, basic accented (almost any non-English Roman-alphabet language), even a couple Greek characters.

Oh goodie. And a UXB. Love those... sorta.

Hm... apparently Captain Superior heard the way to win a girl over is complimenting her. Works for my character. Too bad he looks like a kill stealer.

Weird... I read his briefing after I abandon him, and it looks like he was planning on taking off... but instead opted to stay? He's sitting at the entrance, either way.

In the middle of the battle, the chief starts randomly speaking English. Good... maybe that means they'll stop speaking their native language soon... so I can actually understand what they're saying.

I rescue Billy, who badmouths me... then apologizes... then loafs about, finally throwing a shuriken just in time to miss the last enemy on the map. Maybe I was overestimating his kill-stealing abilities?

And then Lazon called... and not exactly home... while I'm still down here. To tell me that they're trying to take out SG groups their way: bombs in the sewer. Well, these bombs won't be hurting any SG's ego anytime soon, so back to the surface to shower and check in. Wonder if SOLUS lets their associates use their showers, or if I should head back to the Brotherhood?

~*~

And now, I get to be a superhero hacker. Technology isn't precisely Sable's strong suit, but whatever, sounds simple enough. Find computers and upload until it eventually works.

And I get new backup this time. One of them even sounds like someone who won't steal my kills. We'll see.

~*~

I'm... not certain why I know so much about how well-suited Emp and Energy are suited personally. Though the audible clues sound like an example of professional compatibility.

It's VERY weird seeing a Rikti computer sitting around inside a damaged office building. Were they moving some of their tech to the surface, for a closer base to the action?

Seeing three of them, practically on top of each other, with a bunch of patrols nearby further confirms this possibility, at least in my mind.

I find Energy down in the tunnels, right next to the computer that actually works. During the ensuing ambush, I found him to be a very effective kill stealer. So I took him topside and abandoned him there. He seemed to take well to that, funnily enough.

I then find Empathy quickly, and it's time to head back to the surface.

In retrospect, now I know how well they get along personally.

~*~

And now I'm off to protect a lab under attack. Nothing too new about that, aside from the fact that THE ENTIRE WAR could hinge on my success. No pressure.

~*~

Save the girl, get the info, get her started on a prototype translator, and get a phone call. Bell Atlantic must love this guy.

SOLUS is under attack... that's exciting. Except for the part where it's not, because that's bad. Time to go help out with the base.

~*~

A whole slew of names just flew past me. I... go in, kick butt, save baby heroes, etc. Got that much.

~*~

I saved the maintenance guy, who wasn't a hero at all. Things go different in the SOLUS base, apparently... I don't think my base has any mundanes that do maintenance. Interesting.

Although that might explain why this map looks like any generic Crey lab. Seriously though, it'd be awesome if you actually could either build a custom map like with the base editor, or at least copy over your SG/VG base as a small map.

I find a... prince? OK, now I've seen it all. He's had enough... time to show him the door.

As an aside, in his description, you use the phrase "fighting on is a ball you should carry"... I understand what you mean, but perhaps the phrase is a bit awkward. Maybe replace "ball" with "burden"... see how that tickles you.

And the body count begins to mount... from the fact they share a tracker in the navbar, I'll assume that there's 5 more corpses somewhere in the base. Looks like SOLUS is gonna be recruiting, if enough of them survive to rebuild.

And then I find Commissioner G. He wants revenge on behalf of his rookies.

I pat him on the head and park him out of harm's way, of course.

I successfully drive off the attack, or at least I clear the map. According to the clues, the numbers are mounting and everyone's either dropping or escaping to fight another day. It looks like the Rikti have officially taken the base.

~*~

And now for the big finale. Joining the head honcho as he battles off their leader, whose name is a little too close to Hro'Dahz for my comfort.

Ah well. Let's do this.

~*~

I swear I've seen this map in the canon somewhere. Wish I could remember where...

More corpses. Gods, so many dead heroes...

I find Commissioner G again, and this time I don't have the heart to refuse him his vengeance. There's just so much carnage...

And then Lazon... Lazon... explodes? I save him, he flies off, and explodes? I... don't know what just happened, or rather, why he had trouble stabilizing his form.

We defeat the bos, watch Lazon's vidchip, and... well... I'm at a loss for words.

With a heavy heart, I return to the "contact" to complete the arc.

~*~

Storyline:: * * * * *

The story starts fairly basic, rehashing a known moment in history and trying to thwart the inevitable. Somewhere along the line, however, it becomes less about rehashing the past and actually becomes reliving the past. In the last two missions, every fallen hero was a personal failure, and when I rescued Commissioner G in the 5th mission, I actually felt his vengeance in me... which is why I couldn't deny him and just abandon him like I usually do with NPCs. I wanted him to get his revenge for every one of those fallen heroes. I actually started tearing up when Lazon died. It pulled me in, it held me close to the story, and it didn't let go.

Design:: * * * *

Everything fit so well together, especially using the blasted lab for the final mission. I think the only thing that could've made the design even better is if you could create a true base-like map for the last two missions. The heroes were compelling, even if Billy and the couple were a bit silly compared to the latter. All the clues, all the NPCs, everything fit well together.

The only thing that seemed off was the communicator subplot. (Perhaps the second arc addresses this, since it was a very quick real-time jump from giving the doctor the tech to saving [or trying to] the SOLUS base from half the Rikti fleet.) I also didn't get a chance to see your Vanguard, since they all died before I could reach them. I'm assuming you did a custom job on them, since the modern (stock) Vanguard weren't around as such back then?

Gameplay:: * * * * *

As I said under storyline, this arc brought me closer to the action of the 1st War than I'd been before, and made me feel the loss and failure of every single dead hero, even though I'd never met any of them before. I've never played through a story that made me feel quite so emotional towards the events and eventual outcome than I did with this one.

Detail:: * * * * *

You very clearly put a lot of time and attention into every little nook and cranny of this arc. It shows, and shows beautifully. Something tells me I'll be very glad to get to the second arc in this series, because I'll be waiting to see where the story goes from here.

Overall:: * * * * *

While SOLUS needs to start rebuilding, it'll have to look for heroes other than Sable for members. However, she'd be honored to help out, any chance she gets. Beautifully written, masterfully executed, with no flaws I could find to mar te masterpiece.

Sorry guys, complications prevented me from getting an arc done in the here-and-now.

And, since I'm running on zero sleep, I doubt I'll be able to do one when I get home.

So I'm gonna postpone until tomorrow morning after work. At which time I should be able to do at least 2 arcs, forgoing any unexpected assignments from today.

I'll keep you all posted, in any case.

That's... gonna have to do it for me for today. Only did 3, but I also only have about 2 hours before work... and I'd prefer not to start one, go to work, come home in a bad mood, and change halfway down a review.

That being said, good chance I'll do one in the morning before class. ^^;

Reviewing:: The Greater Good (350877, @Gypsy Rose)

@Mychyl

Playing as L38 Dark/Regen scrapper, old Heroic setting

-- sync'd to 45 per arc requirements

~*~

OK, so I've apparently been selected to join The Greater Good. But first, they wanna make sure I'm not gonna fall on my face and disgrace them? Got it.

Rob a bank? Weeeelll... she did say modern-day Robin Hoods. I guess we're using this for the greater good? My character mulls it over, and decides to press on.

~*~

According to the Longbow that're guarding the bank, I'm not the only hero who's been tested here recently... they're griping about defending it against heroes and villains alike. Odd.

Hm... a crumpled piece of paper. About the Greater Good. Something tells me this mission was a plant. How... distinctly odd.

As an aside, when you label your safes, we see that. All three can have the same name, it's just that the individual objectives (Collection: Safe etc) would have to have different names. And "safe 3" or "safe with a note" look a bit odd.

~*~

A... A prison break? Really? Sable's willing to play along for now... but she's having very real misgivings about all this. Something about this doesn't add up. If Mr. Worthington is so wonderful and good, why doesn't he have an attorney fighting for him?

~*~

Apparently, some of the cops on scene agree that Mr. Worthington shouldn't have been locked up... but that doesn't stop them from keeping me away from him. Concussions all around.

His immediate guards, however, disagree and call him scum. After freeing him, he thanks me... then stands around. Apparently he wants me to lead him out... but the mission says to just go. I guess he can impress his way out, based on his description.

Let's go. Being on the scene of a breakout makes me queasy.

~*~

And now a kidnapping?

She says it's the final test. It's the final step. I've already broken the law six ways from Sunday. And the ransom money is gonna be used to help people. I can do this. I can do this.

I don't WANT to do this. But I can do this.

~*~

So... so far, no matter how uncomfortable or implausible, it's been true. She said the Family were pretending to be bodyguards for this guy and his prissy princess... true. They don't even like her, talking about what a brat she is... just like she said.

But now? Now I'm apparently a member. Time to find out what she expects of me, if that's just the initiation.

~*~

And just like that, it's time for my initiation party. All those vile deeds done for the greater good. They'd better have punch and pie, after all that.

And the cryptic notes are in the same handwriting as Ms. Goodheart's? The cryptic notes which appeared at the scene of each crime, that made (the first, at least) seem like a plant?

Curious.

~*~

I do not see any punch or pie. There is a desk, which I am apparently supposed to look into. So I do. It says to go find a computer and read a file. The computer's password is farce? Were all my actions a farce as well?

I found the computer... all the way in the back of the office building. (Is this intentional? So that I see all the people inside?) Well well well... a part of me wondered if this might be coming. Let's see what we can do about this.

Well, that's one more objective down... and now the place is bedlam. Half the people are attacking me, and half the people are assisting me. And it's hard to tell which half is which, especially when I can target some of them automatically.

~*~

And so it ends. Did I really serve the greater good? Possibly. Were there better ways to do it? Possibly. Do I feel dirty for going along with the entire charade? Definitely.

But perhaps it was for the greater good in the end.

~*~

Storyline:: * * *

Honestly, I feel that this arc wasn't so much a question of morally gray as of morally bankrupt. The average purebred villain will feel right at home with the entire arc... my heroine, who's not squeamish under most circumstances, almost bailed on the entire arc. If I hadn't been testing this arc, I would've let her.

This kind of descent into evil is basically like what I heard about GR's Praetorian content... slowly lower you into the boiling water, and see how much treachery you can really handle, then mark off your boiling point on the morality scale. Anyone who can complete this arc should be deported to the Isles post-haste.

Design:: * * *

You did a good job with design, overall. There were a few issues (like the constant issues with interacts where you put the name in like it was a behind-the-scenes only option).

The biggest design flaw is the fact that it's not possible to tell one GG from another, which makes it awkward when some are attacking, some are defending, and some are standing there lecturing or playing drums in the middle of it all.

Gameplay:: * *

Honestly, and this being from someone who's not squeamish about the gray edges of morality, your arc would be much better pitched towards someone who's a villain. Robbing a bank Robin Hood style is one thing... but then there's the breakout, then the kidnapping, and finish it all off with a massion office bombing?

Like I said, my heroine wanted out, and as I told you before, she lives on the gray line between hero and villain. It made me squeamish as a player to do it, it made her squeamish as a hero to do it, and most of my villains would chuckle and do it without comment.

Detail:: * * *

You created a custom class, but for all that their look matched one another, it was a very basic, very plain look. There was very little detail about them, very little clue to keep me moving forward through the villainous morass, and there were little nagging things that still pick at the edge of my attention.

For example, if they're all mindwashed into thinking that this is all the best thing ever, how was Ms. Goodheart able to get all those notes planted, right where you could find them? Or why did only some of the people try to defend the building, when the rest were defending you?

Also, as mentioned under design, there were a few things that stood for improvement (the glowie names, the short descriptions).

Overall:: * * *

This would make a wonderful arc for someone planning on crossing over from blue to red when GR goes live; it lets you really see what your hero would think about all this. For the average (or slightly more evil than average) hero that'd just as soon keep their Paragon City registration, the Greater Good is more like the Greater of Two Evils.

Critiquing:: LOOK CLOSER (382760, @Beyond Reach)

@Mychyl

Playing as L28 Elec/Regen scrapper, old Heroic setting

~*~

Should I be getting a microscope? The Hubble Telescope, maybe? Guess it depends on how CLOSE I should be LOOKing.

OK, enough bad puns for the moment. The Grimm Fairy... that name sounds way too familiar. I'm gonna take a minute and figure out where I remember... waitaminute...

Ishmael. The History badge plaques. The Intellectual badge. This could be interesting.

So yea, I'm off to save someone that I know nothing about. Sure, that'll work. Taking orders from a hero gives a subtle air of "I'd do it, but I'm far too busy to waste my time on this". Though I'm probably reading too much into it.

But then I look at my clues (trying to LOOK CLOSER) before I enter, it sounds like the girl I was supposed to visit didn't know why I came, but her brother clearly became a lieutenant, if not higher, amongst the Lost. And the real mission is to go check up on him. So, let's begin.

By the way, the intro clue was titled "The L.anguished Woman"... I'm not sure if this is supposed to mean something special, or was a typo of some form. It doesn't make sense to me at this juncture, at any rate.

~*~

A warehouse crawling with Lost, with two Lost guards outside (that I apparently sneak in past). Pretty standard, except for the altars to Ishmael the Teacher and the documents that serve as a Lost Manifesto. (Apparently, the Intellectual story is what I'm reliving. So time to temporarily forget everything I know about what happened, because that'll only spoil the story.)

Isaac's dead... well, that's not gonna make his sister too happy. I checked the building, looking for anything I missed, then time to head back and tell Grimm what I found.

~*~

So, it looks like I'm still playing sidekick for the Grimm Fairy. She picked up two signals that match Isaac -- I mean Ishmael -- and I'm off to check out one while she checks the other. Not a bad deal... let's see what I can find.

~*~

And lo, the miracle of birth... or rather, the non-miracle of advancing someone to a higher stage of Lost (which my character knows, due to the Midnighter intro arc, means a step further from his original humanity). The clue says that I have a choice... the transforming Anathema begs for mercy... but all I can do is watch him run off? I know this is AE mechanics at its finest, here... but I can't help but wish I actually could've put him out of his misery.

What's this? Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you: Anathema in a can! (Instead of canning them in water or mineral oil, the Lost prefer to can their Anathemas in some strange gray goo. Oh wait, no, that's liquid brain.)

Hmm, a strange map with some kind of intricate pattern and unknown purpose. What say I figure it out later...

And then I get a clue... but no, apparently, I haven't gotten it yet. That's confusing. Let's head back so I can get the clue...

~*~

OK, her wing got a bit bent out of shape, but now we know where he's at, so she flies me over (honestly, I could run faster than she could fly, promise) to the spot. And then I look at the diary (2 clues, the one before that I "didn't have" yet and the new one for accepting the next mission... isn't there an easier way to do that?), and get a bunch of ranting about heroes being blind to their suffering, and thinking we've won when we just don't know the truth.

Enough reading madness, let's see what we can see inside.

~*~

As I travel this mission, I keep running into the same named Pariah. Is this an accident of naming? Or purely coincidental? And one of them dropped another map. Interesting.

Oho, so now the building is gonna fall around me? How... quaint.

~*~

With a falling building, it stands to reason that there's a ticking timebomb (so to speak) on the mission. So this is written after the fact. >.>

First off, I'm not the worst opponent of chained objectives... they definitely have their uses. Chaining two separate sets of defuses, then 4 bombs to place, in a medium-sized map when the clock is ticking steadily down... that, I'm an opponent of.

And why was I placing bombs again? *goes back to the clues* OK, so apparently we can blow our way out of the building... thus killing all the villains and captives inside, but we'd survive... or we can do the psychic inhibitors. I did several of the inhibitors, but while it said there were 5, I only found three... the other two must've spawned inside walls or something. Were they all bookcases?

OK, I found the other two after the fact, they were just tucked away in awkward locations. But still, the wrapup is likely going to discuss the fact that I blew the building up to escape, since there's no way to set up the concept of "If you complete the mission by doing X, you get this debrief; else, if Y, you get this other debrief". There's a success/fail option, but I wasn't about to deliberately fail a mission just to see what it said. The clue hinted that you tried to do just that, but even so, there's no way for the fail to check that we set the inhibitors first.

Also, as an aside, when there's a timer involved, especially a short one, I tend to ignore clues until later. So I didn't even realize that fail = using the inhibitors against Ishmael until after the bombs were set below.

Ah well, out of the crumbling mass of bodies and bits of building we shall stride, and away to the next point of destruction.

~*~

OK good, apparently in my mad rush to destroy the building, I at least got the civilians out. That's good.

KILL Ishmael? That's the only option? Sure, and all the stuff they put into the Zig to prevent villains from using their powers, that's just for show.

Not to mention that the Grimm Fairy sends me in to do it. She wants him dead, but she doesn't want to deal with the guilt, maybe?

~*~

It's amusing, in the first fight with Ishmael, that he summons a virtual army of clones of himself. It becomes a lot less amusing when I start killing them after he drops... and they're worthless. They stand around and do Build Up, or run off and run back to me, but they have zero attacks, which makes them very annoying decor and little else.

I like the use of destructibles (the transmitters). One thing I'd note, minor typo in the description for them.

Do the whispers need to be numbered? They feel more like random musings and less like something that should've come in a specific order... maybe when I have them all I'll see the order intended.

And one of the images of Isaac is still following me... Gods, those things are annoying.

Yay for even more of these XP-less images. They're no harm to me, so I'll just ignore them. >.>

The whispers didn't need to be in order in the end.

~*~

I'm pretty sure Ishmael didn't die in the end, but was arrested... and why is The Grimm Fairy torn up? She didn't do any of the fighting in the end!

Oho, so in order to make people not hate us, we're pretending that it was an apprehension. And since she's the martyr (regardless that she didn't herself actually face Ishmael), she became the hero of the moment and I was a nothing.

And in the end, the Grimm Fairy was the grief-maddened wife who turned her anger and sorrow in the only direction she could.

~*~

OK, overall, I really like the arc. A few minor blemishes.

First, I get you're rewriting history. It's very common for the history books to remember events one way, when the reality is a bit different. Sanitized, as it were. Especially since your version is very... well, not sanitized, that's for certain.

The title is LOOK CLOSER. Is this a suggestion that the player should look closely at everything? If so, you can put hints to look at the clues and whatnot through the briefings/debriefings (which you have done), but I think the title would work better as an idea of the arc, not as an imperative.

The customs are... well, worthless. I'm assuming you designed them for story purposes... but it's rather annoying to be surrounded by them, but for it to be futile to actually do anything about them. It would be nice, if you decide to keep them, if you turn them into something (perhaps psi blasters, since they're manifestations of his mind anyways.) Also, their descriptions seem a bit light, but that might be more of a personal preference situation.

The clues are good. As I mentioned above, the whisperings don't seem to need an order... they don't follow a certain specific chain in their logic.

Overall, I like the arc... it's a dark arc, but that has its own appeal.

Reviewing:: Duplicity (85847, @Soul Storm)

@Mychyl

Playing as L37 Dark/Regen scrapper, old Heroic setting

-- or rather, as L45 Dark/Regen, due to minimum level

~*~

Morally gray things, huh? Well, that's never a problem with this character. (Possible bombings aside.) So bring on the chaos.

And a timer. That too.

~*~

Smash evidence, kill baddies, and make it home before Longbow even knows I was here. Easily enough done, especially when it's just a bunch of Council lackeys.

But while destroying evidence is kinda light gray, something tells me this is barely the tip of the iceberg.

~*~

Huh... it seems that the Council have a shapeshifter in their midst, one who's capable of duplicating anyone he wants. And I'm someone he wants. Because I'm so well connected and all in this city. (Please, her connections and a buck might get her a soda.)

And now, the one piece of evidence I kept during my smash-and-grab leads me to someone who might be able to tell me something about this Shapeshifter. So I'm off to the Isles for some plausibly deniable rescue work.

~*~

It's funny, you get those arcs that are heavy on custom mobs, and sometimes it makes it a little harder to focus on just playing and watching for story hooks. Then you get an arc with no customs, and you can go on autopilot for the fighting itself while you watch for clues, glowies, anything interesting.

And then, while nothing exciting is happening, I think about weird things. Like how it makes sense that the Council would have a villain like the Shapeshifter. They are the masters of genetic manipulation, after all.

I find the informant, I lead him to the door, and life goes on. Sorta.

Back to see what's next on the hit list.

~*~

And I get yelled at. I don't like it when contacts scold me. It does NOT sit well with me.

But while he tries to make nice noises at Longbow, he wants me to go beat up the Shapeshifter. I expect this to end bad... but whatever. I'll do it if it makes him shut up. That's my new motivation.

~*~

Ambush with EB. What nonsensical fun.

My first thought is to go beat up some Voids and steal a couple of their quantum array weapons for when I see Romulus next. But no, according to the clues, it's not his fault.

I still blame him.

But no, apparently the Shapeshifter led them to believe that I'm him. So they're looking for him, and finding me, and what good fun that is. Back to chew out Romulus and have him call his dogs off.

~*~

Oho, so after I "go into hiding for 3 weeks" (which is something my character wouldn't do, especially when there's a hint in her mind that she was set up), I'm on Longbow's Most Wanted and even villains don't wanna help me.

So apparently I'm gonna hare off on my own. Given that Romulus might be to blame, that's not a horrid plan after all.

Another thought: given that the Shapeshifter can replicate anyone, could Romulus suddenly be the Shapeshifter in disguise?

~*~

Nifty base. I don't actually remember this one... but it works very well for Vandal. I almost expected the colosseum-style one, but I like this one better.

Wow, forgot how nasty Vandal can get. Died a couple times, which is rare for this character... but I pulled myself together and took him out.

Which, apparently, my ability to defeat him means that I'm really me. Go me? But now he suspects Arakhn. Who I remember vaguely from my Council hierarchy, but I don't remember who he was. Since he's not as common, let's see if Romulus has anything to say about this possibility.

Or if I get to kill him. I think I found a crate of quantum weapons. I wanna try.

~*~

Down side, Romulus isn't there. Plus side, he might be meeting with the Shapeshifter. Either way, my quantum rifle will be happy to see him.

I still think Romulus = Shapeshifter. I'm gonna stick by that. But now, heading into Arakhn's base -- which should be the location of the Shapeshifter, hopefully -- we'll find out, won't me?

~*~

I enter to hear an officer shouting to offer his help. Apparently Vandal cleared my name. I'll take that as a good sign.

Said officer is found kneeling, as though captured... but he isn't. Is this an arc bug? Possibly.

And the officer is a bad kill stealer. I don't like him anymore. Time to try and ditch him.

Success. On with the mission. ^^b

And I am steadfastly trying to ignore the navbar. Because it spoiled the final twist for me. I would strongly advise changing that... having the twist come out when I get to the last room... that's awesome. Having it come out the second I hit the base? Not as fun.

I get to the Shapeshifter, and he practically one-shots me. OK, change of plans, this time I'll bring the kill stealer with me. Maybe he can tank for me for a bit.

OK, so the officer was worthless. And I got hamster-balled 3 times during the fight. 3 times... that's a record for me. I hate that power beyond rational thought, for the record.

...And apparently the game hated it too. Because I just mapserv'd. I swear, if I have to start this map over from the beginning... *shakes fist*

Oh. Um. Half the servers went down. *pauses review*

Servers are up, so back to work. From the beginning, alas. But it'll work. I'll just skip on commentary until after where I was.

Nice, this time I didn't get the hamster-ball treatment once. Now, as I was about to say before, off to face the Shapeshifter -- in another form.

Form 2 was... well, I muted the game for the battle. The least favorite villain to battle with sound on, that's for sure. But there's another one? Really?

Form 3 was actually the real Shapeshifter. Supposedly. Ironically, much like most RPG villains that have multiple forms, the true form was the weakest.

All done. Back to say hi to Romulus. Used all my quantum charges on the Shapeshifter, but I guess my fists will do.

~*~

Darn, I didn't even get to punch him. He started sobbing about how he'd betrayed me for the woman he'd fallen in love with. Ah well, at least Romulus and the Shapeshifter are off to visit scenic Ziggursky..... or are they?

~*~

Storyline:: * * * *

Very lyrically flowing story, and quite captivating. I felt myself drawn into the goings-on, and anytime I have strong emotions against the events or contacts, that's a plus. (Just less so when I start raging against the arc.) There were a couple moments when it was less going with the arc and more... wanting to fight against it.

My one question is, aside from the fact that I destroyed evidence, and then ended up fighting Longbow (due to an ambush), what was the grayness of the morality of the arc? I was set up to expect myself doing things a hero might be morally opposed to... but really, I don't feel that happened so much. There were a lot of "greater good" overtones that made the entire affair look like sunshine and daisies compared to, say, Crimson's arc.

And again, I get (in the end) that Romulus isn't so much interested in my happiness and well-being, but I don't care for contacts that scold heroes like they're bad children. It does not sit well with me.

Design:: * * * *

The fake Longbow looked like a real Longbow; the Shapeshifter look went well together; the maps and missions coordinated very well. My only qualm is that there wasn't much to the (real) Shapeshifter's description. Also, as I mentioned, the officer in the final mission is found kneeling but unguarded -- either unguarded and ready for battle, or guarded and kneeling, would work well, but "kneeling but unguarded" just looks like an error.

And why would someone go into hiding for 3 weeks? Why not confront Romulus right away? Like I said, my hero certainly wouldn't go to ground just because of a little threat on her life... I can't think of anyone who gets to L45 without repeated threats on their life.

Gameplay:: * * * * *

There's a definite challenge element to this arc -- which I expected going in, which knocked me on my face a couple times, but I persevered and it all ended well. The missions were fun, had a nice varied pace that kept me on my toes, and a couple of twists that I didn't expect made it more fun.

Detail:: * * * *

Again, there were a couple places (like with the real Shapeshifter's description) that I felt it could've been a little better fleshed out. The attention to the story itself was very strong, but there's always room for improvement.

Overall:: * * * *

A bit of polish never hurt anyone; this is a good, strong arc, and I'd be excited to see how it'd look with just a hint more detail in the bare parts. And possibly with a hint more suspense to the final twists... the twists were good, and kept me guessing, but having half the twists just show up in the navbar for the final mission was a bit awkward.