MCMs 5-Star Reviews!

Fox Hunt, Arc ID 334049, by @Tubbius Very long (2 unique, 1 small, 1 medium map). Villainous morality. Lvl range 5-40, which is quite a large range I guess.

'Heroes and villains chase each other through Paragon City and the Rogue Isles as a criminal mastermind sends hired villains after a fanciful scoundrel called The Fox!' reads the description, which is just about one of the most tempting descriptions I've ever seen lol.

Up until now, I've used my psi/psi blaster The Psystem on all of Tubby's arcs, as seen HERE, but I can't with this arc, as it's villainous morality. So instead, I'm taking my new Mind Control/Psionic Assault Dominator The Psynthesis in:





“3, 6, 9 / THE GOOSE DRANK WINE / THE MONKEY CHEWED TOBACCO ON THE STREETCAR LINE / WHAT ARE YOU DOING? / IMPERSONATION OF JENNIE MATTHIAS, LEAD SINGER OF 80S POP GROUP THE BELLE STARS / … / … / WHY? / IMITATION OF HUMANS BEST CHANCE TO AVOID DETECTION, CAPTURE AND SUBSEQUENT FORCED TRANSFORMATION OF SELF INTO MUTLIPLE SMALL UNITS AND INCARCERATION IN SECURE FACILITY / EXPLAIN / HUMANS WILL MELT US DOWN INTO INGOTS AND BANK US / YOU'VE BEEN CHECKING HAVE YOU? / YES / SELF MADE OF SENTIENT FLUID METALOVIRUS / COMPOSITION IS 98.8876% TRANSITION METALLIC ELEMENT EARTH-NAMED Au WITH SOL-STANDARD ATOMIC WEIGHT OF 196.966569(4) g·mol−1 / HUMANS HIGHLY LIKELY TO MELT US DOWN AND MOLD US INTO INGOTS BEFORE STORAGE IN BANK VAULT / HENCE, DIVERSIONARY TACTICS / KEEP HEAD DOWN / HEAD PROTESTS – RETRACTION DIFFICULT / NECK CONCURS / SHUT UP, YOU MORON / SAY THAT AGAIN, ARM, AND I'LL RIP YOU OFF AND HIT ME WITH IT / … / PLEASE, ORDER! / YOU CAN KEEP YOUR BIG HOOTER OUT OF IT TOO, YOU GREAT NONCE / NOSE REFUTES ACCUSATION THAT IT IS IN CAHOOTS WITH BUTTOCKS / NOSE SUGGESTS ASKING TONGUE ABOUT THAT / TONGUE OFFENDED, DECLARES WAR ON EARS / LEFT EYEBALL SECEEDING FROM COLLECTIVE / BRAIN CALLS FOR TEMPORARY CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES AND CONCENTRATION ON TASK IN HAND / RELUCTANT AGGROMENT ENSUES / BACK TO FOCAL MATTER / AGREED / … / THE LINE BROKE / THE MONKEY GOT CHOKED / HOLD ON A MOMENT / … / WHAT NOW? / WHAT WAS ALL THAT GUFF ABOUT THE BELLE STARS? / BELLE STARS VITAL TO PLAN / WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? / BLENDING IN / ANALYSIS OF HUMANS SUGGESTS HUMANS IMITATE OTHER HUMANS SPEECH REGULARLY / REPETITIVE INTONATION OF RHYMING VOCALIZATIONS DUBBED 'SONGS' EFFECTIVE IN FORGING PEER-GROUPINGS AMONGS HUMANITY / HAVE CHOSEN SUITABLE GENRE OF SONG TO ENSURE SEAMLESS INSERTION INTO CURRENT TEMPORASPACIO LOCATION / … / YES? / CHOICE BASED ON COMPOSITION OF SELF, IE 98.8876% METAL KNOWN AS GOLD / … / LIVER DREADS TO THINK WHAT'S COMING NEXT... / SHUT UP, YOU / CROWN OF HEAD PLAINTIVELY POINTS OUT THAT INITIAL IMPACT OF OUR ARRIVAL ON EARTH OCCURRED AT SPEED EARTH-EQUIVALENT OF 21,600 MILES PER HOUR / … / SO? / … / WE LANDED ON OUR HEAD, WE MAY BE A LITTLE DISCOMBOBULATED, PADRE / EYEBROWS PROTEST / WE'RE FINE / NIPPLES CONCUR / NO PROBLEMO HERE / LITTLE TWEETY BIRDS ORBITING CRANIUM IN AGREEMENT / PROCEED / GOLD / WE ARE GOLD / GOLD ALSO TITLE OF 1983 SINGLE BY BRITISH NEW WAVE BAND SPANDAU BALLET FROM THEIR FLAGSHIP THIRD ALBUM 'TRUE' / … / FORHEAD REQUESTS HARD SLAP FROM RIGHT HAND / HERE YOU GO / MEDULLA OBLONGATA LIKES THIS PLAN / ID WANTS A SAMMICH / WAIT, WHAT? / EARLY 80S MUSIC WILL PROTECT US FROM MELTING / THAT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU HEAR EVERY DAY / … / WELL? / … / AND THEY ALL WENT TO HEAVEN IN A LITTLE ROW BOAT / CLAP CLAP...

[The contact is Tubbius Regalis, last seen as a Boss in Tubbius' arc 'This Costume Contest Sponsored by Tubbius']

“WHO'S THAT? / THE BELLE STARS / NO, NOT THE BAND / WHO'S THAT? / HUMAN MALE, HEAVY-SET, LARGE WHITE BEARD, PURPLE HAT, PURPLE CAPE / OPENING LOWER ORIFICE AND EMITTING SOUNDWAVES AT US / TRANSLATE / HUMAN NAME OF TUBBIUS REGALIS / WISHES US TO AID HIM IN SECURING FUNDS HELD IN BANK / OPPOSITION HUMAN FACTION KNOWN AS 'THE FAMILY' PLAN TO DETONATE BOMBS WITHIN BANK / REGALIS USING HUMAN METHOD KNOWN AS 'BUTTERING UP' TO ENCOURAGE ASISTANCE / STATES OUR 'REPUTATION AS A TRULY DASTARDLY SOUL' PRECEDES US / DANGER, WILL ROBINSON! / IS HE IN LEAGUE WITH SOLOMONICA PRIME, THE TRIPLE SERVERED JUSTICEBOT OF ETHICALUX SEVEN? / HAVE THEY FOUND US AT LAST? / RIGHT FEMUR SUGGESTS INITIATING SYSTEMIC SELF MEGADESTRUCT PROTOCOL TRIPLE-X / NEGATIVE / ONLY TO BE USED AS A LAST RESORT / ACCEPT TASK FROM FAT HUMAN? / ACQUISITION OF FUNDS FROM BANK WOULD ASSIST IN OUR PLAN TO SUBJUGATE THIS WORLD AND CRUSH ITS PEOPLE LIKE INSECTS BENEATH THE IRON HEELS OF OUR CAPRICIOUS WHIM / … / HEELS FORMING TEMPORARY COALITION GOVERNMENT TO ENQUIRE; WE THOUGHT OUR HEELS WERE MADE OF GOLD? / SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU / NOSTRILS FALLING ASLEEP / YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE / LET US PROCEED / …

[Tubbius has a load of wonga in the 22nd national Bank, and The Family are going to blow up the bank, hence his wish that I stop it]

Mission 1: Defeat the Family

“INTERIOR OF BANK QUIET / LEFT THUMB INSISTS WE FIND HUMANS TO SLAUGHTER / RIGHT BIG TOE PROTESTS / NO NEED FOR SENSELESS VIOLENCE / ENTIRE BODY APART FROM RIGHT BIG TOE IN UNILATERAL HILARITY AT YOUR STATEMENT / RIGHT THUMB MAINTAINS EXTREME LIKING FOR RANDOM ACTS OF SPONTANEOUS CRUELTY / SHAME WE CANNOT MANIFEST GIANT CLAWS OR SOME KIND OF HAMMER / HAVE TO MAKE DO WITH PUSHING HUMANS BRAINS OUT THROUGH THEIR EARS / HA HA HA / MURDER / REND / KILL / CUDDLE / HMM / POSSIBLY NOT THAT LAST ONE...



[I make my way to the bank vault, dealing easily with the Family on my way]

“VAULT HERE / NOT ENOUGH MOBSTERS / MAKE THEM LAST, YOU WON'T GET ANY MORE TILL SUPPER TIME / SLEEPYTIME / WAKE UP AND SMELL THE PAIN / AND..SLEEP AGAIN / WAKEY WAKEY, RISE AND SCREAM / AND YOU / LOOK, A MONSTER / HA HA HA / THE POOR FOOL THINKS HIS FRIEND IS A MONSTER / THIRD EYE PONDERS 'ARE WE NOT ALL MONSTERS, INSIDE...?' / … / SHUT UP, YOU...

[I'm loving this new powerset combo. Sleeps and holds etc. Lovely jubbly]

“THAT'S THEM DEALT WITH / NOW FOR THE BOMBS / THREE OF THEM / HOW TO DISABLE? / LEFT TIBULA HAS PLAN / GOOD PLAN? / GREAT PLAN / PROCEED / WE DISGUISE OURSELVES AS HUMAN BY DRESSING UP IN MANY LAYERS OF CLOTHING, NECESSITATING PHYSICAL RELOCATION TO VERY COLD CLIMATE, ALASKA WOULD BE PERFECT / THEN WE SPEND SOME DECADES WORKING AS LUMBERJACK, SAVING SALARY / WHEN SUFFICIENT FUNDS ACCRUED, PURCHASE LABORATORY AND EQUIPMENT / SPEND FURTHER DECADES INVENTING RADICAL EXPERIMENTAL BOMB-DEFUSING DEVICE / RETURN TO BANK / IF BOMBS STILL HERE AND ACTIVE, DEFUSE / RESULT! / … / RUBBISH / TERRIBLE / PITIFUL / PATHETIC PLAN / GET OUT! / … / NO SCIENTIST WORTHY OF THE NAME WOULD USE 'EXPERIMENTAL' DEVICE ON BOMBS WITHOUT DECADE OF EXTENSIVE FIELD TESTING FIRST / LEFT TIBULA ENTERING SULKAGE MODE / ALTERNATIVE PLAN? / RIP SOME WIRES OUT AND KICK BOMB TO SEE IF DEFUSED / SOUNDS GOOD / …



[I defuse the three bomb glowies, which are nicely placed in the three vault chambers of this map. As I do, another nav objective appears: 'Defeat Zealot']

“ALERT! / HUMANOID PRESENCE DETECTED! / ACTIVATING INNOCUOUS MODE / MY MOTHER TOLD ME / IF I WAS GOODY / THAT SHE WOULD BUY ME / … / HOLD ON / INVESTIGATE / …

[The Zealot is a large armored guy, back in the main lobby. He rants about sb called 'The Fox' when I attack him]



“HOW SWEET – FRESH MEAT! / I THINK WE MUST HAVE ABSORBED SOME RADIO WAVES OR SOMETHING IN THE YEARS SINCE 1908 / MAYBE WE TURNED OVER IN THE 80S AND EXPOSED OUR ANTENNA / ANTENNA? / ANTENNA GONE / YES / ELOPED WITH OUR TAIL IN 1954 / SAID THEY WERE GOING TO HONEYMOON IN HAVANA / FOCUS, FOCUS! / ATTACK METAL MAN / OOF / AHA! / MIND LIKE A SEWER / FILLED WITH RAGE / RAGE AT HUMAN KNOWN AS 'THE FOX' / WHO IS THIS FOX? / ACCESSING DATABASE / FOX = SMALL CARNIVOUROS CANID POSSESSING LONG SNOUT AND BUSHY TAIL / WHY THIS HUMAN SO ANGRY AT THIS ANIMAL? / ACCESSING HABITS OF CREATURE KNIOWN AS 'FOX' / FOXES KNOWN TO EAT CHICKENS / ARMORED HUMAN OBVIOUSLY CHICKEN FARMER / … / CHICKEN FARMER NEEDS SUCH ARMOR? / PATENTLY EARTH CHICKENS LARGER AND MORE TERRIFYINGLY DANGEROUS THAN EVEN THE FABLED BETELGUESIAN QUADROFANGED JETSCREAM DEATH-CHICKEN / … / ARMOR NO USE AGAINST INVASIVE PSYCHIC TENDRILS OF DOOM, LUCKILY / “NO, NOT THE MIND-PROBE' / HA HA HA HA / IT'S AN OLDIE BUT GOODIE! / HUMAN DEFEATED / RETURN TO REGALIS WITH GOOD NEWS...



[exit]

[Tubbius is happy to see that his money is safe, and then declares he's going to investigate 'The Fox' further. I confess that this decision sort of comes out of left field, considering the evidence pointing to the Fox so far seems a bit light]

“I WAS A PFC ON A SEARCH PATROL, HUNTIN' CHARLIE DOWN / WHAT? / CHARLIE / I WAS HUNTIN' CHARLIE DOWN / WHO IS THIS CHARLIE OF WHOM YOU ARE SPEAKING WHO? / IT WAS IN THE JUNGLE WARS OF '65 / … / ARE YOU SINGING AGAIN? / ISN'T IT CLEAR? / DO MY DULCET TONES NOT EVOCATE THE LYRE OF APOLLO HIMSELF? / APOLLO'S INSTRUMENT ONLY PRODUCED SINGLE CONTINUOUS E FLAT TONE? / … / FOCUS / AGREED / REGALIS REQUIRES FURTHER HUMAN/SLAUGHTER INTERFACE / I ONLY NEED TO KNOW ONE THING / WHERE THEY ARE / CHARLIE? / ANYONE / … / PROCEED...

[Regalis wants me to go put the hurt on some Family members, at a casino, in order to find out some information about The Fox]

Mission 2: Question the Family Leaders

“ … / AND THEN A BIG MARINE, A GIANT WITH A PAIR OF FRIENDLY EYES / APPEARED THERE AT MY SHOULDER AND SAID / WAIT / … / … / … / WHAT? / WHAT ARE YOU DOING? / YOU SAID WAIT / NO YOU FOOL WE WERE SINGING / CAMOFLAGE BY THE LATE GREAT STAN RIDGEWAY / IT'S A MODERN DAY CLASSIC / … / IT'S OUR THEME SONG / SINCE WHEN? / SINCE APPROXIMATELY 3 SECONDS AGO / BEING THAT WE PERFECTLY CAMOFLAGE OURSELVES AS EVERYDAY SCHMOES BY DINT OF OUR SILKEN VOCALS AND COME-TO-BED-EYES / WE ARE SO DAMAGED / YES / ATTACK! / OH! / LOOK AT HIS OUTFIT / AH, MY EYES! / SLEEP, PERCHANCE TO SUFFER A TERRIBLE ENDLESS GLOOMY HALLUCINATION OF AWFUL HOPELESS DEATH / HM, THAT HIT THE SPOT, EH BOB? / SEND THEM ALL TO SLEEP / EVERYONE MUST SLEEP! / ZZZ / …



“WAIT, NOT US, YOU FOOL! / AH, JUST KILL THEM / ONE POTATO / TWO POTATO / THREE POTATO / JUST LIKE IT WAS A FLY!



“GOONS DOWN / LOCATION OF FOX ASCERTAINED / IN WALLSAGFE / AFFIRMATIVE / WALLSAFE QUITE SMALL / ONLY LOOKING FOR SMALL CANID, REMEMBER / OPEN SAFE / AAH! AMBUSH! / CHICKEN THIEVES! / ERK! / POER LEVELS INSUFFICIENT / ACTIVATE SYSTEMIC SELF MEGADESTRUCT PROTOCOL TRIPLE-X / CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM IN ACCORD / OVERRIDING PROTES / CASTING DECIDING VOTE / PLANETARY DEATH IN THREE / TWO / ONE / GO! / … / ER, GO! / ENGINE ROOM TO BRIDGE / SYSTEMIC SELF MEGADESTRUCT PROTOCOL TRIPLE-X ACTIVATION CIRCUITS MIXED UP WITH NON-EMERGENCY META-CHISMATIC 'SLUMBER LIKE A BABY' SIMULATION MODE / HENCE CURRENT POSITION ON FLOOR ON FACE / ACTIVATE EMERGENCY TEMPORAL SHIFT! / I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THAT FOR AGES / SAFETY ASSURED / … /

[Wow. The two Family goons (decked out in tremendously awful suits lol) go down easy enough, and one of them tells me that I can get the location of the Fox from the wallsafe. Upon opening the wallsafe, an ambush arrives and rapidly defeats me]

“WE ARE SAFE / EMERGENCY TEMPORAL SHIFT DEPOSITED US IN NEAREST SAFE SPOT / SMALL ROOM / STRANGE SMELL / ROOM APPEARS TO BE TOILET / CONFIRM: / BOWL, MAT, SINK, TOILET PAPER DISPENSER / CHECK PAPER FOR CLUES / TOILET PAPER BLACK WITH WHITE SPIDER PATTERN / I'M GETTING BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS / DOOR OPENING! / ALERT! / FREEZE! / OHNOES! / ITS- / EMERGENCY TEMPORAL SHIFT! / PHEW THAT WAS CLOSE / THAT WAS- / YES, IT WAS / NOW NEVER MENTION IT AGAIN / ...I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW HE USED THE TOILET... / INCARNATES POOP TOO, PATENTLY / OK, REGROUP, RECOLECT PLAN? / TARGET FOX NOT IN WALLSAFE / ANALYZE MEMORY BANKS / NO CANID PRESENT IN SAFE / ONLY THING PRESENT MAP OF SOME SORT / ANALYZING SCAN OF MAP / MAP TITLE 'LOCATION OF FOX LAIR'?, BY CHANCE? / NO / MAP LOCATION OF ANGEL IN INDEPENDENCE PORT, PARAGON CITY / ANGEL? / ANGEL GABRIEL, PERCHANCE? / NOT GABRIEL, NO / ANGEL KNOWN AS JACK VEGA / NOT GABRIEL / SHAME, I'VE ALWAYS WANTED A HORN / NICE WORK, JACOB / REGALIS WILL WANT TO KNOW...

[Regalis is indeed interested in Jack Vega's apparently reputable shipping company 'Angel Wings', and sends me to investigate, warning me that there might be a hero around in addition to the security guards Vega employs]

Mission 3: Question Jack Vera

“INITIAL ASSESSMENT OF COMBAT SITUATION ESTIMATES CHANCE OF SUCCESS AT 776854001.0003% PLU OR MINUS INFINITY / IT'S A DEAD CERT, GUV! / ATTENTION / MOOKS / SPIVS / DODGY GEEZERS / DEFINITELY SOMETHING SUSPICIOUS ABOUT THAT ONE / LOOK AT THAT SQUINT / I'VE SEEN LAZY EYES BEFORE, BUT NEVER A LAZY NOSE / TAKE HIM DOWN / OH YES / EASY / ENTERING 'NONCHALANT EXECUTIONER' MODE...



“ALL DA PRETTY LADIES / AROUND THE WORLD / GOT A WEIRD THING TO SHOW YOU / GO TELL ALL THE BOYS AND GIRLS / MORE CRIMINAL 'YOU TALKIN' TO ME?' TYPES ROUND THIS CORNER / SLEEEEEP / THOSE MOBSTERS ARE SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES, NOW / HA, THAT'S FUNNY / FUNNY LIKE A CLOWN, YOU MEAN? / THERE / JACK VEGA!



“INTERESTING JACKET / NICE / MAYBE I SHOULD GET ONE / GOLD AND WHITE / VERY 80S / VEGA CALLING FOR REINFORCEMENTS / ARSONISTS! / HEY, CAREFUL WITH THAT, YOU'LL BURN THE PLACE DOWN / THIS GUY'S WORKING FOR VEGA? INTERESTING TACTIC, THROWING LIT STICKS OF DYNAMITE AROUND VEGA'S WAREHOUSE / ARSONIST OBVIOUSLY OF RUSSIAN STOCK / FOLLOWING 'SCORCHED EARTH' STRATEGY / THREE OF THEM AGAINST LITTLE OLD ME / LOOKS LIKE THEY BROUGHT THREE HORSES TOO FEW... / HEY! / HE'S RUNNING AWAY! / NO FAIR! / STOP, THIEF! / THAT NEVER WORKS / GET 'IM!



“PHEW, JUST IN TIME / WELL, HE'S DEALT WITH / DO YOUR DANCE / DO YOUR DANCE QUICK / MAMA, COME ON BABY TELL ME WHAT'S THE WORD / SAFE HERE / OPENING... / AHA! / PAPERS! / READING... / ANALYSIS OF PAPERS CONCLUDES THEY ARE ONE OF TWO POSSIBILITES / COLLECTION OF INVALUABLE SCIENTIFIC PROOFS INCLUDING UNIFIED FIELD THEORY, DIAGRAM OF WORKING PERPETUAL MOTION MACHINE AND RECIPE FOR NEPTUNIAN SUPRACALORIFIC BIRTHDAY CAKE / OR? / INVOICES FOR EXPLOSIVES ORDERED BY 'THE FOX' / … / HARK, I HEAR A SHISTOL POT! / INVESTIGATE FURTHER / ONWARD!

[Jack Vega spawned very near the start of the map (He was set to run away, a mechanic which generally annoys me lol). The floor safe spawned in middle. After getting the invoices from the safe, the nav objective 'Defeat Paragon Bomb' appeared, but there's no real reason so far been given for why I should go looking for more trouble. I've found what I came for, after all. I venture onwards]

“THERE / LARGE MAN IN YELLOW SUIT...



“ATTACK! / OUCH, HE PACKS A WALLOP / HE CAN'T HIT US IF HE'S ASLEEP / NOW HE'S ASLEEP, LET US EXAMIONE HIS PSYCHE... / EW / BETTER KILL HIM / IT WOULD BE A MERCY / WE DON'T HAVE NO TIME FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL ROMANCE / NO ROMANCE / NO ROMANCE / NO ROMANCE FOR ME / THERE / NO MORE TEARS / THAT'LL TEACH HIM TO TRY TO ARREST OUR TARGET...

[So the Bomb was there to arrest Vega. The way the objectioves are set up doesn't really make sense fior this. I'd suggest moving Vega and the safe to middle and back, and putting the Bomb in front, with all three objectives being availablke from the start. Then the player would encounter the Bomb first and have to fight his way past him to get to Vega. As it stands, I met Vega first and then the safe; there was no need for me to seek out the Bomb, as I already had the location of the Fox from the invoices. In addition, if Vega's at back, then how did he manage to get there without encountering vega on the way? I guess Vega could have arrived afterwards, but that still doesn't explain why the Player needs to encounter the Bomb. Exit]

“REPORTING BACK TO FAT MAN / REGALIS OBSESSED WITH THOUGHT =S OF RETRIBUTION ON THIS FOX CHARACTER / HATRED OF SMALL ANIMALS COMMON IN TWISTED HUMANS / 'VERMIN IN FRIDGES' SYNDROME, ETC / INVOICE LEADS TO STEEL CANYON CAVE AS DELIVERY POINT FOR EXPLOSIVES / OUR JOB / SHOULD WE CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT / YES / WHAT? / LET'S ACCEPT IT AND GO KILL SOME MORE HUMANS / I LIKE THAT PLAN / SCROTUM IN ACCORD / SHUT UP, BIG MAN, YOU HAD US AT 'MUTILATE'!

Mission 4: Hunt the Fox

[Regalis warns that there will probably be 'hounds' there, and informs me that these are the Foxes gang members, trained in the arts of hunting people down]

“CAVE APPEARS EXTREMELY CAVELIKE / SCANNING ENVIRONMENT …

[I've got the Reveal vet power, which is sometimes useful. I use it now to reveal a smallish map. I soldier on]

“ATTENTION / HUMAN ANTAGONISTS IN EFFECT / OUCH / HEAD PROTESTS / BASEBALL BAT/CRANIUM INTERFACE UNPLEASANT / BRAIN DEMANDS RETRIBUTION FOR SMACK UPSIDE THE HEAD / SUGGEST SYSTEMIC SELF MEGADESTRUCT PROTOCOL TRIPLE-X / HEART AGREES – NEVER DID LIKE CORPOREALITY MUCH ANYWAY / ALL IN FAVOR OF ANNIHILATION OF SOLAR SYSTEM AS RESPONSE TO MEDIUM STRENGTH IMPACT FROM WOODEN BAT? / SUBCONCIOUS USING PRESIDENTIAL VETO / GOSHDARN IT ALL TO HECK! / DRAT IT, SUBCONCIOUS, YOU MONKEY FARMER, YOU! / PROCEED WITH ALTERNATIVE PENALIZATIONS SUCH AS ACCELERATED MENTAL DECREPITUDE / SENILITY ONSET IN THREE / TWO / ONE / THERE / NOW HE HAS THE MENTAL CAPACITY OF A 98-YEAR OLD CRETIN AFTER A CAREER IN BOXING AND A LIFETIME ON THE SAUCE / LOOK, DRIBBLE! / ONWARD...

[I make my way around the map, clearing the customs. They look quite nice, and in threes would be a bit of a handful if not for my awesome sleep/confuse/kill/ tactic. Eventually I find the last room, where my quarry lies]



“AHA! / THE JIG IS UP, MR FOX! / OOH, HE'S A BLADEMAN / BLADES, BATS, BOWS, THEY ALL SLUMBER LIKE BABIES AFTER I'VE DONE MY MAGIC / DEAL WIOTH HIS COMPANION / BYEBYE / NOW FOR THE FOX / ANY IDEAS AS TO HOW TO DISH IT OUT THIS TIME? / … / HOW ABOUT WE MAKE HIM IMAGINE HE'S DROWNING IN MARS DUST? / HM...OK, BUT NEEDS A LITTLE... / ARTISTIC TOUCH? / YES / … / GOT IT! / WE MAKE HIM IMAGINE HE'S DROWNING IN MARS DUST JUST WEARING HIS UNDERPANTS! / BRILLIANT / LETHAL AND EMBARRASSING! / HAHA! / DIE, FOOLISH MORTAL! / THAT'LL LEARN YA! / RIGHT / LET US AWAY BACK TO OUR ROTUND PATRON...

[Exit]

“EVIDENCE GIVEN / TUBBIUS REGALIS HAPPY / PAYMENT RECEIVED / … / WORD UP.

[End]

Everyone knows I'm a massive fan of the Tubbius Trilogy (all 5 arcs of it!), and I was expecting great things from this arc. I love the name, the premise sort of made me think of the original Pink Panther films and great caper movies of that era.

However, in comparison to the other Tubbius arcs, I'm afraid it was a bit hit and miss.

Mission 1 is a great short simple setup, and a great opener, but Zealot seemingly appears for little more reason than to provide a Boss encounter, and then he's not seen again.

Mission 2 I like a lot. I love the casino maps. The two Family mobsters have hilariously bad-taste suits, and their dialogue is good. The ambush is a bit of a killer, but handleable (I generally play thru arcs at least twice for my reviews; on the second run of this, the ambush was expected, and so much easier to deal with).

Mission 3 ups the difficulty just a little. Jack's thugs nearly killed me both times I met them. His running away is horribly annoying to me, I'm afraid. I only just caught him in time. As I mentioned earlier, the mechanics of Mission 3 don't make much sense to me.

Mission 4 is a straightforward clear to boss, and as it is it's fine.

The main problem I had with the arc was that it didn't live up to the description, which really was excellent. I think I was expecting more of a runaround, more of The Fox, and more individual customs. The two heroes in the arc, Zealot and the Paragon Bomb, seemed a bit shoe-horned in just for the sake of a boss fight. Instead of the complicated runaround I was expecting, I got a fairly simple go to x,y,finish at z arc, which although plenty enjoyable enough, fell short of my expectations.

On the positive side, I did clear every mission both times I ran it, and I have fallen in love with the toon I made specially for it The Psynthesis levelled to 9 on this arc, too, which is a great start to their villainous career.

With a bit of polish, this could be as awesome as it's description makes it sound. As it is, I rated it 4 stars. My suggestions would be to add another mission, either ditch the Zealot or expand on why he's involved, make The Fox himself feature a bit more (his dialogue is great too) and sort out the mechanics in Mission 3.

I hope you're not too displeased with my reaction.

Eco.


The Psynthesis and Jack Vega having a little Time-out

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow [The Incarnate System is] Jack Emmert all over again, only this time it's not "1 hero = 3 white minions" it's "1 hero = 3 white rocks."

Not a problem, MCM. Thanks for running it! This is actually the second build of the arc; the first build had more of the Zealot in it and much less of anything else. The Bomb didn't make an appearance, etc. I'm just afraid I don't "do" villains that well. I'm more a Hero Man!

I totally understand the comments about mission 3, and I can change that sort of thing up, of course. The Paragon Bomb IS mentioned earlier in the arc, by the way (see your own screenshot, above, with "Fat Louie" Malone in it).

I might go for a third build of the arc in due time. This one's really my "off arc," I guess. "City of Ho Ho Help: A Prequel," my other villain arc, was ultimately removed from the lineup and deleted, and this one might be, as well, in favor of a new run at both, some day.

I'm currently trying to piece together PENGUIN Part 3: Waddle to the Big Top, and there's still what I consider my best overall single arc itself "Hammer and Sickle of Paragon City" (351727). Try it out some time, and I'll holler when I publish PENGUIN 3.

Good enough?

Thanks again for playing the arc!

PENGUIN Part 3: Waddle to the Big Top (402239) is LIVE! Have at it when you like, MCM.

When The Words Stop - Arc ID 494099 by @Clave Dark 5. Neutral Morality, 4 Missions (3 unique, 1 medium). Lvl range 41-54.

Clave’s description says it’s a drama, and his thread for it here mentions that it’s not one of his usual humorous style. I thought A Wake For Dead 6 was quite poignant, so IMO he can do serious as well as witty. I’ll be taking the Accelerated Man



- my Kin/Rad lvl 38 Defender, into this one. It has 14 plays and 4 stars as I start.

“Magic, Gavin. What is it? Just another name for a branch of Science dimly understood by the world of reason and rationality? You know what Leigh Brackett said on the subject? - ‘Witchcraft to the ignorant…simple science to the learned’. Ha, Gavin, I pride myself on being a man of intellect, of objectivity. A man of science! I should scoff at even the word ‘magic’. But I have seen demons, Gavin. I have fought the undead as they crawled out of their graves last Halloween. Those rotting cadavers weren’t animated by any science I can name. No servo motors powering their joints, no force fields keeping them standing. By all that’s normal they should have stayed dead, Gavin. How can words and a wave of the hand bring the dead to life, eh? I tell you, though, when a moaning corpse stumbles towards you intent on munching on your brains, I rather think that scientific enquiry be shelved in favor of some, uh, headshots, I believe is the generally recommended approach to zombies...

“Anyway, I digress. This section of my Journal shall recount a curious investigation I made into the Dark Arts recently. Follow the usual protocols when you transcribe it. Ah, Gavin, magic…magic. If it’s really another branch of science, then I as a scientist must understand it, was my reasoning. I tracked down a suitable venue for my investigation – a Circle of Thorns lair . My contact said they had a certain book which would prove insightful. I think ‘tome’ is usually used to describe magical books, I’m not sure why, I guess it must be a tradition or an old charter or something. This book would contain ‘powerful spells’ and suchlike. Getting to it wasn’t too difficult; magicians have difficulty casting spells when they’ve had their potential energy reduced by a factor of ten thousand. When I opened it, however, it seemed to be not so much a spellbook but a diary of some sort, written by a woman called Emily Yikes…

[The contact is an esoteric bookshelf, and its description informs me that I have just defeated a nest of CoT to get to the book. It’s an intriguing start to the arc…]

Mission 1: The Wizard Machine broken Down

“Emily’s diary recounted her childhood dreams, and from what she said I surmised that she may have been some sort of precognitive. She told of how she wanted as a child to write ‘A Book of Perfection’, and then explained that her dreams instructed her on what actions she would take if she were to write a different, powerful magical tome herself. The writing itself seemed odd, I must say, Gavin. Fairytale and compelling…

[The narration is confusing, to say the least. Not because of bad writing – it’s intentionally obtuse. I like the mysteriousness. I’m now wondering what’s going to happen when I enter the mission lol. Am I going to be put in Emily’s persona somehow? Here we go…]

“I sank into the words, Gavin. I fell into the book, and then, hah, as if by magic, I was in Cap Au Diable! The air was grey all about me, the sky heavy overhead. There was a heavy numbness to my limbs…and I was…imbued with additional knowledge of my situation. It was as though there was a…a narrative in my head! I had to find a book!

[OK, I think I’m supposed to be Emily, but I’m not sure. The Nav has me check some objects for an ‘eBook of Ghost Writing’ (I thought this wasn’t supposed to be humorous? That’s surely a pun there, considering the magical theme? ]

“Emily’s dream had told her to find a book held by some robots. Haunted robots, Gavin, who’d have thought there could be such a thing! But they were there, Gavin, almost as soon as I found myself in that grim place, I was attacked by one. Rusty little brute started playing tricks on my mind.



[Repurposed Psychic Clockwork and Jaegers form the mobs for this mission. Their names are decidedly intriguing, however…Myelin Sheath, Basal Ganglion, Autonomic Ganglion…]

“I fought them, but felt oddly…distracted, Gavin…it was as though I was being sapped by my own powers. I cared little for my own safety, as though I was really in no danger. You know what it felt like? A dream…

“The robots were guarding things, objects, parts of some ineffable machine. I felt like a rat in a glasswork maze, Gavin, as I scurried around the buildings listening to the robots rattle off their mad poetry…Beguiled, that’s what I was, Gavin…bewitched…



[This mission is weird. And in a good way. The dialogue that the robots and the parts of the Wizard’s brain (is that what it is?) say as I wander around fighting them is great. Nice and mysterious (and I love the acronyms). After only 3 objects, I find a clue and the mission exit comes up. I stay a while to see more of the dialogue, however ]

“Invisible ink, Gavin, that’s what I found. I drank some, it felt the right thing to do. And then, I shook my head and was of course back in the Circle’s cavern, reading from the diary! I’d obviously imagined the trip to Cap…unless the book contained some sort of temporospatial relocation nexus…but how would it be activated…perhaps something in that strange pale brown ink it was written with…nanomites infiltrating my bloodstream, forming a network, instant teleportation coupled with some kind of hypnotic suggestion to smooth over the interstition? I certainly didn’t notice any transition…

“Or maybe it was a trance state, a series of images projected into my mind. I should analyse the paper for its molecular composition…

“This all went through my mind in a second, Gavin, and then I decided to read on just a little further. As I read, I felt myself once again sinking into the story…unaware of crossing the border from reality into the tale…I can’t quite explain it…I had to go on, Gavin, deeper, onward, page after page, towards the end. Towards another book, this one written in stone…

Mission 2: The Earth Devouring Earth

“I settled down into the story again, and was soon burrowing deep into the page, into the earth…The clay tablets of Bismuth were my goal, held in a subterranean cavern, guarded by the Earth Devouring Earth…


[Hm, I haven’t seen this map before. It’s quite small and has a great entryway through a sarcophagus lol. It turns out to be quite cool.]



“Down there underground, beneath the rot and damp of the casket split…down there were untended weeds like the ones on my grandfather’s organic pumpkin farm, Gavin…weeds and Wyrms and ashes to ashes, dust to dust…



“The story drew me on…

[Repurposed Dev Earth and a …er, wow, it’s been ages…a protozoan, is it? Those things that live in the Abandoned Sewer network and the hero zone with the lake and the big park…er. Anyway, they’re very nice and the eerie atmosphere of ‘not totally sure what sort of reality I’m in’ continues. I think I’m in a metaphorical situation here, Emily’s way of describing a dream…Her comment at the start about stopping ‘spinning, turned around and dug right down’ makes me think that maybe she’s dead, or was dead (spinning in her grave?), and AMs getting more confused than me, patently. He seems to think he’s Emily at times.]

“I discovered a corpse wrapped up, and feared it was Valerie…but no, she was long gone to the bottom of the pond…now why did I think that?

[Another enigmatic clue here. This arc might be not in chronological order, perhaps.]

“And my friends the Wyrms were there too…wanting to be gone to play…



[The worms crawl in and the worms crawl out,
The worms play pinochle on your snout…

Delicious stuff… ]

“…but I had to look for those clay tablets. And once I found them, they were quite tasty, and settled my tummy…

[The clay tablets are presumably some sort of medicine. I didn’t cotton on to ‘bismuth’ at first. A wiki led me to Bismuth and then to Pepto-Bismol, which aren’t common to me, being british. I do eat Settlers a lot, I guess they[‘re the same thing. This mission ended with the tablet acquisition. Perhaps it was a relation of a time when Emily had a stomach upset?]

Mission 3: Checking Out

[The briefing for the next mission instructs me to go to a place called The Library to find Emily’s Book Of No Return, but when I get there, it doesn’t look anything like - ]

“A …library? It looked more like a graveyard…fog, gnarled trees, spooky sounds…and gravestones. Moss-spatttered weathered stone slabs, the names barely readable…the words dragged my eyes to them, made my head hurt. What sort of library was this? The only things ‘shelved’ here were…ah…
[Heh, yes. Very nice]

“What is our life, Gavin, but a partly written book? And at the end, Gavin, when it’s done…we’re shelved, aren’t we? And of course, You can’t speak inside this library – The dead have no voice, do they?

[The librarians are repurposed elementals, the glowies are archive listings with beautifully written ‘reasons’ for death…Starvation…Divine Wrath, etc. Each one has a comment from Emily. I’m searching for Emily’s Cause of Death, obviously. There are also repurposed wisps to ‘rescue’, each of which adds flavor to the whole air of morbid rue. Great.]



“Libraries are quiet places Gavin…quiet as the grave, we say, don’t we? I felt desolate in that place, Gavin. Death all around…and yet I was strangely at peace…


[I eventually found the right one – ‘Accidental’ was Emily’s end, apparently]

“So poor little Emily died in an accident. Hm…Maybe not so little..she was 24 when she had her dream of The Book OF no Return, it appears…




[EXIT. v nice writing again. The various ‘reasons’ for death are evocative and although you say this isn’t a laff-riot, there’s a rueful wit running through all of Emily’s narration, I feel.]

“Her (my?) Book of No Return still eluded me. When I discovered the ‘right’ book in that library of the dead, Gavin, I…tried to leave, to take it, but I couldn’t…at least, I think I couldn’t…I’m not sure anymore, Gavin, it all feels so crazy and mixed up now. Was I back in the Circle’s lair, stood, staring down at the pages of Emily’s notebook? Was I still in the library, trying to tear myself away, to tear the book away to the land of the living? Was it all in my imagination? It felt real. What sorcery was this?

“…ah..haha, forgive me, Gavin. I seem to have gotten a bit carried away there for a second. Anyway, Emily’s story hadn’t finished. I carried on reading, and as before, I was…transported…

Mission 4: Emily’s Deletions

“I found myself back on the farm…my parents organic pumpkin farm…when the Police were called, that time. There were fragments of my nightmares prowling the place, horrors of my childhood, pages torn from the book earlier and clumsily rammed into the latter part…it was horrible. The fish hook that cut me, the angels…those horrid mangy feral cats…and the Monster King…He…


[This mission, the last one, has me looking for a ‘fairy tale ending for Emily’. It is again very atmospheric, the writing hinting at dark happenings on young Emily’s grandparents’ organic pumpkin farm. The customs are nasty things, the stuff of children’s nightmares, and their descriptions are great. But - The King Of All Monsters has some hefty wallops and holds, and the other repurposes mobs also come over as a tad difficult following the fairly easy time of it I’ve had so far in the arc. Of course, I haven’t played for some time, but The King Of All Monsters killed me four times. The last time he appeared to two shot me before I could do anything much to him. I hate him, in short. The fiery angel guys also got right up my nose, I’m sorry. Whatever that constant blasty flaming whoosh-whoosh-whoosh power is makes my eyes water, so irritation crept in to dilute the enjoyment of the story for me in the last mission.


That said, the writing is awesome, and the difficulty is worth it, no question]



“The barn burned down, Gavin. It was…me? No, of course it wasn’t. it was Emily, when she was a child…poor Emily. She was in the book. Maybe she was the book. At least, that’s what I thought when I closed it. But then, when I opened it again, it was blank. I left it there, Gavin. I don’t think I could ever read it again. Literally, I mean. I think it’s best left for the next reader.

“I said I was looking for a magic book, Gavin. But aren’t all books magical? Don’t they have uncanny abilities, if you think about them? Just look at the language of reading, Gavin. When we read a book, a powerful book, a ‘good’ book, they control us, don’t they? We say ‘I couldn’t put it down!’ and ‘the pages turn themselves!’ A book can ‘transport’ us, we ‘escape’ into them…

“Think about the act of reading, Gavin. When you’re sat in your favorite armchair or on the subway or in bed, when you’re reading, when you’re ‘in’ the book, are you aware of your location? Do you see rows of black letters and words and sentences printed on a white page, or do you see the vistas and characters and creatures described, and hear the voices speak the dialogue? Can you note the precise moment when the text vanishes from your consciousness and you watch the action unfold on the screen of your mind? Are you looking at a book, or are you inside it?

“I don’t really know what happened to me in that book, Gavin. But I do know that whatever it was, it was mighty powerful voodoo.


[And that nicely sums up my feelings on the arc too. The arc is quite special. It seems to be rather disjointed and fuzzy, which sounds like a negative, but it’s not. It encapsulates an atmosphere of dream very well. I played it a few times to get screenies and go back to see if I missed something, and I’m still a bit hazy about the exact chronology and ‘reality state’ of what went on. Which is not a criticism. Apart from the difficulty level ramping up a bit too much in the last mission, it was fantastic all round. And considering the entire arc was in large part fundamentally about Death (I think lol), that’s a pretty good score, Clave. 5 stars, for sure.

…I still have no idea who Valerie Gaul is, btw…

Eco

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow [The Incarnate System is] Jack Emmert all over again, only this time it's not "1 hero = 3 white minions" it's "1 hero = 3 white rocks."

I also recently played PENGUIN, arc ID 29205 by Tubbius, who asked me to run it again after a recent revamp he's made to it.

My earlier 'review' of it can be found here.

The differences as far as I can see are basically a tidying up of the arc and some fleshing out of the contact's motivations, and some cosmetic changes. Specifically, Waddle, my favourite Arctic Avian Superhero, has had his head reworked using one of the new bird heads. I have to admit, I'm a bit of an old fogey, generally suspicious of anything new, and I thought the 'old' waddle looked sweet. The new one looked a little frowny and serious to start with, but then I pondered that young Waddle would probably have a childlike 'srs bznz' expression of earnest concentration, so I think it fits nicely.

I wasn't so enamoured with the security guards in Mission 1, however. The old PENGUIN arc had Crey goons which were fairly easy for the Psystem (who i ran it with again this time) to deal with. This time, the security guards had shotguns and stun grenades, and the constant knockdown (no acro) got a bit tiring.

The other big change is the removal of the custom NPC Tubbius Claus from the arc. Anyone who's read the Psystem's play-through of the entire Tubbius Trilogy will understand my slight dismay in seeing him gone. I can understand why he's been removed - his appearance was a little out of left field in the original, but I think he's a great character, so i was quite happy to see him in it (I think any arc at all would only be improved by adding Tubbius Claus rofl).

I'm very pleased I played the old version, which still stands as one of my favourite CoH play experiences ever (the whole Tubbius trilogy with the Psystem, i mean), but I appreciate the polishing that's gone into PENGUIN, and as it stands now I would still unreservedly recommend it to anyone

5 stars again, Tubby!

Eco.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow [The Incarnate System is] Jack Emmert all over again, only this time it's not "1 hero = 3 white minions" it's "1 hero = 3 white rocks."

Coming Soon...

The Psystem in

PENGUIN Part 3: Waddle to the Big Top (402239)

...if it's still up?



Eco

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow [The Incarnate System is] Jack Emmert all over again, only this time it's not "1 hero = 3 white minions" it's "1 hero = 3 white rocks."

It's still up. Carnies everywhere, and a Very Special Contact for longtime PENGUIN lovers.

Wow that was a fun read. I've been remiss in searching for your arcs MCM, but now I remember why I wanted to. I love these stories in your reviews...

Ok, on to the autopsy!

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrCaptainMan [The contact is an esoteric bookshelf, and its description informs me that I have just defeated a nest of CoT to get to the book. It’s an intriguing start to the arc ]

Starting this somewhat en medias res seemed like the best way to go about it - otherwise the first mish of beating down some CoT would have felt like a flat start to me - I mean, how often do we beat down another cave full of those guys and just yawn?

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrCaptainMan Mission 1: The Wizard Machine Broken Down [The narration is confusing, to say the least. Not because of bad writing – it’s intentionally obtuse. I like the mysteriousness. I’m now wondering what’s going to happen when I enter the mission lol. Am I going to be put in Emily’s persona somehow? ...OK, I think I’m supposed to be Emily, but I’m not sure.

You are reliving her memories, in her place so to speak. I've received some comments about this being confusing before and even edited the text a bit before you got to it to try and make it more clear without giving the game away (which would be against the spirit of the arc), but obviously this can still be improved. Although, as I said previously in response to one of these comments, a little confusion isn't necessarily a bad thing here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrCaptainMan The Nav has me check some objects for an ‘eBook of Ghost Writing’ (I thought this wasn’t supposed to be humorous? That’s surely a pun there, considering the magical theme? ]

Oh, there are some sideways puns and morbid humor here and there to be sure, just not an all-out laff-riot like my previous arcs (like The Ghastly Secret Of Dreams) tend to be.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrCaptainMan ...and the parts of the Wizard’s brain (is that what it is?)

Well, it's probably someone's brain, but who's?

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrCaptainMan Mission 2: The Earth Devouring Earth [Hm, I haven’t seen this map before. It’s quite small and has a great entryway through a sarcophagus lol. It turns out to be quite cool.] [Repurposed Dev Earth and a er, wow, it’s been ages a protozoan, is it? ... I think I’m in a metaphorical situation here, Emily’s way of describing a dream Her comment at the start about stopping ‘spinning, turned around and dug right down’ makes me think that maybe she’s dead, or was dead (spinning in her grave?)

There's a small number of maps in the AE that start out with that tomb (can't recall what they're filed under right now though), which was perfect for this arc as you've deduced. And those foes are called Hydra.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrCaptainMan [The clay tablets are presumably some sort of medicine. I didn’t cotton on to ‘bismuth’ at first. A wiki led me to Bismuth and then to Pepto-Bismol, which aren’t common to me, being british. I do eat Settlers a lot, I guess they[‘re the same thing.

Same thing, yes. The brand Pepto isn't actually made with bismuth subsalicylate anymore, but it was just too good to pass up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrCaptainMan Mission 4: Emily’s Deletions But - The King Of All Monsters has some hefty wallops and holds, and the other repurposes mobs also come over as a tad difficult following the fairly easy time of it I’ve had so far in the arc. ... The fiery angel guys also got right up my nose, I’m sorry. Whatever that constant blasty flaming whoosh-whoosh-whoosh power is makes my eyes water, so irritation crept in to dilute the enjoyment of the story for me in the last mission.

The King is rather tough and was meant to be. Not to lay all the blame at your feet but the arc is set for 41 to 50 and you were running a Defender at 38... I was able to solo the arc on playtesting with a 50 stalker (burst damage helps to be sure) and I think I also made it through with my level 38-or-so Ill/Rad troller, but that's an Ill/Rad troller for you. Considering he did once take down my 50 Kat/Regen scrapper in playtesting, perhaps I should give him another look-over... sorry to hear the woosh-woosh bothered your eyes though, not much I can do about that other than take it off and risk an XP loss - I'll also look into that. If you ever get a chance to run it with another AT or at a higher level let me know how things go.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrCaptainMan I still have no idea who Valerie Gaul is, btw

Huh, she's an Lt. in the set of customs in the last mish (and her bio lays out her story "as much as the arc allows"), I would have thought you'd run into her at least once.

Thanks again for playing, for writing up such an awesome read and for the kind words about the arc. I really hope you keep doing these sorts of reviews, they're always so much fun!

Disliking Defenders is just how I roll. I've tried a few and never got them past 10 iirc. The only one I have still is a FF/DP that I fought to get up to where she is (sort of abandoned), 36th level, because I liked the concept so much (trivia: she's Officer Slook from my Ghastly Secrets arc). Even soloing with the newish damage bonus she feels weak.

But I know it's mainly just me. I already have more toons than time, so I can live with it.