Venture

I'm hoping for some decision trees where you won't know until after you choose which side you just pushed yourself towards.

15 minutes after a closed beta containing such a feature was opened, the trees would be posted to a Wiki in their entirety.

Arc #6017, "Mercytown: The One With All The Fish"
tl;dr: 5 stars. Nits: canon character's voice slightly off

Reviewed on: 10/29/2009
Level Range: 1-10
Factions: Hellions, Coralax
Architect's Keywords: Comedy, Horror
My Keywords: Comedy, Horror, Magic
Character used: Thermophage/Infinity
Difficulty: +0x1-B-AV

Dimitri Krylov, former Soviet scientist now operating out of Cap au Diable, races over to Mercy as soon as he's heard of your release to secure your services. The job turns out to be bagging a Coralax for him to study for his work on amphibious super-soldiers. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? You're sent to the small Mercy instance to "rescue" a Coralax "hostage", who goes on about a "Book of the Deep" she won't let you have. Krylov is pleased with the specimen.

However, he doesn't care much about the Book of the Deep. He does show you a newspaper article that talks about it, a recent find by one Dr. Henry Veidt, but Krylov isn't interested in it. He doesn't have any work for you right at the moment though, and we all know what idle hands are.... You nip off to steal the Book for yourself, unfortunately, the Coralax have gotten there first. Veidt's wife ("V V") mistakes you for a hero when rescued and asks you to see if her husband is safe. He's nowhere to be found, and neither is the book. You do find some computers with various illicit files on them and a singed tarot card.

Now Krylov wants the Book. He's learned the Coralax are part human and part coral. The tarot card is a trademark of Duke Mordrogar, according to Krylov, and while he doesn't know where the Duke's hideout is he has heard of a bit Hellions party tonight. The party takes place on the old PDP warehouse map full of Hellions and their girlfriends. A few of the mobs are labeled as "Squealers" but only one has the location of the Duke's hideout. The others have various bits of humorous information to offer. Once you've got the info, the next step is fairly obvious....

The Duke is holed up in the burning Hellions office. Veidt is there too as a hostage. When rescued he says it would have been better if you'd let him die in the fire, and suggests you burn the book. The Hellions didn't take his advice and read it, and now they're fighting amongst themselves. Mordrogar himself seems to be in thrall to it. An exit pop-up says you find a ransom note, demanding the Book for the safe return of V V and Veidt. Krylov is bemused by this: "what do they think, this is the Hero Isles?"

After going over Veidt's journals (and heeding the warning not to open the Book), Krylov determines that the only thing to do is to take out this group of Coralax and destroy the book. It's obviously dangerous and even if the Mercy colony is wiped out the Coralax will just keep coming after it. He's going to come along with you on this one. He's let the specimen "escape" with a tracking device, and he's got a submarine waiting with some explosives (with a cute story behind them). The sub takes you to some underwater caves (Cimeroran) with a surprisingly-breathable atmosphere. Krylov spawns up front as an Assault Rifle/Energy Aura ally (LT for me, due to 4XP settings I believe...oh, and there's a bit of a gag that only works if you check his info). There's a convenient (lampshaded) barrel of acid for you to toss the book into (it screams as you do so). Veidt is there as a hostage; V V is also present but...not as a hostage. To wrap it up, you have to take out the High Priestess, destroy an altar and plant four bombs (all of which spawned in the last room for me). The specimen is there too as an optional encounter with a few good lines. You witness the destruction of the colony from sub as you escape (exit pop-up). Krylov bids you farewell (with a mostly-unnecessary attempt to explain why he may not recognize you if you meet again), pays your fee and throws in a bonus, a ticket to Oakes. He advises you to put all this behind you, dropping a movie line as he does so.

Lovecraftian comedy is something you don't see a lot of, but the architect pulls it off. The only real nit I'd pick (overlooking the Friends naming convention) is that Krylov is a bit too terse at times. For the most part is voice is well done. This is a great arc recommended particularly for low-level villain characters that want to avoid the usual Mercy grind.

Arc #28470, "15+ Min TUTORIAL - Knowledge is Power: Architect Entertainment & You!
tl;dr: 3 stars. Offenses: see below

Reviewed on: 10/28/2009
Level Range: 1-54/5-50/1-54
Factions: Custom, Longbow
Architect's Keywords: Easy, Solo Friendly, Kid Friendly
My Keywords: Easy, Solo Friendly
Character used: Venture/Virtue
Difficulty: +2x5+B-AV

This isn't a story arc in a conventional sense, making a summarized review pointless. Basically, it is Exactly What It Says On The Tin: a tutorial for the AE system. It discusses badges and how to get them and gives some tips on mission construction.

It's effective at what it does. However, anyone who can find it and run it probably doesn't need it.

Now that my old queue is empty, it's time for a new thread. Previous reviews can be found in the following threads:

Arc Reviews
Venture's Reviews II: The Nightmare Continues
Venture's Reviews IV: The Search for Part III

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I am no longer taking requests for reviews. Don't even ask. This is primarily because between RL and splitting my gaming time with The Other Game I can't guarantee reviews will be done in anything approaching a timely fashion. I don't want to make commitments I know I can't keep.

Because the pace will be slower in this thread, I am rescinding my earlier rule about discussion of reviews. I will engage in a reasonable amount of dialog if possible. Again, I am dealing with time constraints so I may not respond quickly.

I'll be choosing arcs for review in a number of ways. Arcs that look interesting in discussions here will be prime candidates. For now I'm running arcs from the Mission Architect Player's Choice Awards.

And the first of those is....

I have penciled this mission into my new queue so it will be my 150th review.

The issue isn't that judges might have marked down an arch if a file was missing or corrupted. It's that the judges may have never even seen the arc.

I can't imagine why anyone who doesn't care about the story behind a mission would still be playing this game. If you don't care about story there are forms of entertainment just as rewarding that require far less effort, such as Bejeweled or network television.

Any explication of the process is going to lead to second-guessing, rules-lawyering or worse. What happens if it turns out that a significant number of arcs were never judged because (e.g.) lots of people misunderstood the instructions, or because their automation trashed entries? They (and we) would never hear the end of it.

Whatever the reason, an arc that didn't win or place this year probably isn't going to do any better in the future. Accept it and move on.

Oh, and if the devs really think custom mobs are one of "the most important" elements...that's sad.

So, that was the last arc in my queue. I'll be starting a new thread for the next batch, for which I will not be taking requests. (I already have over twenty arcs listed just from the Players' Awards thread and there's no way I'm going to cover all of them before the deadline.)

Closing out the old business:

Arc #67087, "Through the Looking Glass Part I"
tl;dr: 2 stars. Offenses: many

Reviewed on: 10/26/2009
Level Range: 50-54
Architect's Keywords: Ideal for Teams, Canon Related, Save the World
My Keywords: Challenging, Sci-Fi, Save the World
Character used: Vector Alpha/Virtue
Difficulty: +1x2+B-AV

I don't have a lot to say about this. The arc seems to start either in media res or with a very bad opening briefing that sounds like you missed the first reel. In a nutshell, Mirror Spirit wants you to intervene in the Rikti invasion of "Earth X", which is going much better for them than their invasion of our world. Because all the heroes are dead or converted you have to hook up with Arachnos, specifically Lord Recluse, and free a bunch of characters that appear to be the architect's SGmates or alts. You are on the trail of "The Herald", which is consistently misspelled "Harald" (I kept thinking "Harald of Norway? Harold the Saxon?"). You end up on the under-the-mothership map facing the chicks from the LGTF and Lady Jane, all converted, and the Honoree. You get Recluse and Requiem as allies and if you've lost them by this point you're probably hosed. Taking down the Honoree triggers the Vassal (Ms. Liberty) and The Herald (Statesman). Taking them down gets you the setup for part II, the end.

There is no theme, balance is a joke and the writing is rife with spelling and grammatical errors. Skip it.

Arc Name: "Splintered Shields"
Arc ID: 253991
Length: Long (5 missions)
First Published: 7/7/2009 04:35 PM
Morality: Heroic
Description: An Arachnos agent makes a daring raid on Paragon City...business as usual, one might think. Or is it?
Forum Thread: Link

People keep telling me how great it is, but it's languishing with a three-star rating at 28 plays. (Naturally the people who slammed it did so without comment.)

a) It was clearly stated IIRC that the Arc of the Year would be chosen from the winners of the other categories minus Best Faction.

b) If the devs have two brain cells to rub together, they will walk away from this without a word. Absolutely nothing good will come from explicating the process.

Arc #81043, "The Invasion of the Space Ape Armada"
tl;dr: 4 stars. Offenses: short, minor balance issues

Reviewed on: 10/24/2009
Level Range: 21-54
Architect's Keywords: Save the World, Comedy, Sci-Fi
My Keywords: Challenging, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Character used: Agent Cerulean/Justice
Difficulty: +1x2+B-AV

The President (whose info says he is "President Man, America's newest superhero) wants your help defeating the forces of the extra-terrestrial Dr.^H^H^HAdmiral Silverback. Silverback has issued an ultimatum (in several ways, some amusing) but Earth's leaders have taken too long to surrender. Paragon City is ground zero for the invasion. You're to take out the invasion leaders and find the teleporter co-ordinates for Silverback's mothership. The invaders are actually apes of various types (well-done customs, though Robotics is overused, probably for the laser rifle, and having both Aim and Targeting Drone on Baboons is a bit much). The two leaders are Captains Kurgh and Packardt, whose dialog sounds exactly what you think it sounds like. Finding the teleport co-ords means destroying a "Teleport Homer" and retrieving its memory core.

Once tech support is done with the core, The President asks you to teleport to the ape mothership behind the moon. Your goals are to take out Silverback, and optionally to retrieve some of the ape's technology and plant a few bombs (at the request of the military). Once on the mothership, you get to fight your way through an expanded selection of apes, two more captains (Janewa and Cisquo), and the Admiral himself. The Admiral's info reveals he's actually an Earth gorilla captured and experimented on by aliens. He was a pretty tough nut to crack, too, as a Super Strength/Energy Blast Elite Boss.

I found this one to be funny but too short. Maybe have some Starship Troopers apes for the ground battle, then a teleport up to an ape space station used as the staging area (Cisquo), then the mothership with the rest of the captains. There are also a few points where the mobs could probably stand to be turned down a notch. Still, it's a good play and recommended.

Haven't played the Hero or Villain ones. "Tales of Croatoa" got five stars from me, it's fantastic. I was not impressed by "Sabrina's Tale" (3 stars), and don't even consider Custom Group to be an award-worthy category.

Edit: Also, I thought the Original Story category was for stories set entirely outside City canon. "Sabrina's Tale" is not.

Arc #77311, "The Ballad of Murky Thecat"
tl;dr: 2 stars. Offenses: plot issues, balance issues, overpowered Big Bad

Reviewed on: 10/24/2009
Level Range: 30-54/25-54/25-54/25-54/25-54
Architect's Keywords: Custom Characters, Non-Canon Story, Origin Story
My Keywords: Challenging, Non-Canon Story
Character used: Agent Cerulean
Difficulty: +1x2+B-AV

Either hammer down the one sticking up, or bring the others up to meet it....

Kaysa Thecat (an aggravating name convention used several times; no surname or just "Cat" would have been better, I think) wants you to experience the story of her predecessor Murky. The story begins with carnies breeding kittens for use as prizes in the goldfish toss. This is described as a "horrible fate". To me, it seems that being the prizes isn't too bad, with the only real risk being that the kitten might be won by someone not entirely serious about adopting a pet. Now, if the kittens were the projectiles in the goldfish toss.... But anyway, you're to put an end to this, find Murky and "adopt" her by finding some adoption papers. The mission takes place on one of the outdoor Carnie maps full of Carnies and their "dogs" (Warwolves). You have to find the papers in a chest and rescue three kittens (catgirl customs), which triggers the spawn of Murky as another hostage. You get to take Murky home to your apartment.

Unfortunately, it turns out there was a no-pets clause in the fine print. You have to beat back the security guards to keep from being evicted, and find the rental agreement. Um...yeah. You have to search the apartment offices for the agreement, getting past a mix of Crey and PPD. Murky is along as an ally, which neatly threw off my attempt to stealth the map as I blundered into her and she autoreleased. She's also a psycho, thanks to her Super Reflexes-boosted perception distance. There are a number of safes to search, one of which has the contract. For some reason, you having the contract lets you get out of its terms...don't try that at home, kids. Anyway...you're now able to get your down payment back and get out of your lease at favorable terms, which leaves you with enough money for a down payment on a suburban house. I'm guessing this part of the arc took place before 2008....

Act III involves a trip to the park for Murky, who's a bit bored. The park (Croatoa map) turns out to be infested with "Suburban Park Imps", a mix of Redcaps and Tuatha. You have to rescue Murky from them, then destroy the "Suburban Talisman", which is evidently responsible for the boredom in the 'burbs.

Act IV, a few years later, has you taking Murky to the doctor. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Well, for starters, the doctor's office could be on Council Empire Earth. At least that's the map used. And Murky has run away, because she doesn't like going to the doctor, and the place is overrun with "Backalley Nurses" with a variety of annoying powers (Electric Blast, Sonics, Poisons....). Once you rescue Murky you trigger the spawn of the Doctor, who must be defeated (skyrocketing cost of medical care and such....) The Doctor was a Dual Blades /Radiation Blast EB with an ambush wave of nurses and fairly nasty. On defeat he says it's too late for Murky, and you get a Clue saying he must have done something to her because she feels tired.

Time for the Fight Scene: you have to save Murky from the Disease. Yes, we're on the hospital map. The nurses are back. You have to find three Clean Bills of Health and defeat "Cancerous Sarcoma", a Spines/Willpower Elite Boss on full Extreme difficulty. On my first try I dropped the pet spiders next to him, he hit Build Up and Impaled me for about 1700 (out of my 1250) hit points. Forty minutes and nearly a full tray of mostly-large inspirations later I finally brought him down.

Then he rezzed.

The last of the glowies was right next to his spawn point. The mission would have completed if I'd had all three done, but there was no way to click it without agroing him, and I simply wasn't going through that fight again in any case. I abandoned the arc.

This was heading for three stars due to a number of dubious plot elements, mostly discussed above. It fell to two because of the overpowered Big Bad. The point of a tribute arc is supposed to be to get people to experience the story and leave them feeling good about it afterward. Given that, there is simply no reason to throw something at them as difficult as an Extreme EB, never mind a Willpower one that rezzes. People playing this arc aren't going to be thinking about the real-life Murky and what a great pet she was. There's going to be thinking about what a pain the last mission was. This one needs a lot of help.

(On an unrelated point, I miscounted; this is only my 141st review. Ah well.)

Up to then, it's fun, engaging, and constantly throws something new at the player that wasn't seen coming a mile away.

If anything in "Psychophage" wasn't seen coming a mile away it's because people weren't looking. :P Except maybe the aliens -- but since the entire thing is a Crey/Rikti story in drag (something that either no one has noticed or no one has thought to comment on) even that's a bit of a stretch.

I left feedback on the arc, which, as you may recall, we are given space for, and left a post saying I didn't like it. Everything else has been in reply.

As I said earlier, the thread is still available. Anyone who cares to can see who said what to who and when.

Votes for Best Serious Arc:

1st: Karmic Exchange #47550 @Braxzana
2nd: Tales of Croatoa: A Rose By Any Other Name #178774 @Silvers1

Voting in other catagories will have to wait; I may or may not have time to play the arcs.