Mechwarrior Online introduces the Tourmaline Desert map, consumables, missile issues, and grants a double-XP weekend, where the Local Ditch decides to check out Spiders and Ravens.
Every time a patch rolls around, I feel a bit like I’m playing “Let’s Make a Deal.” You might win big or you may get zonked. Which will it be? No one knows. And of course, there are usually some other zany things to happen along the way.
Update #13 saw the introduction of a new map: Tourmaline Desert. I’m pretty happy with it. It’s a big map, littered with jaggering scenery that provides ample areas to both hide and ascend. The map is bright; there’s a lot of light bouncing around in it, which gives the mechs a nice sheen. (more…)
Hey, Local Ditch Gaming looks different. Or rather, it will very soon. For now, you’ll have to settle for just the Mechwarrior section.
Yesterday, the Mechwarrior section received a a new splash of paint. I’ve been working on something a bit more modern for a while now, and I think I’ve got a nice look that should last for a bit.
For a while, I’ve been wanting to get a more uniform look for the site. The news and I ’76 section were already blended a bit, while the Mechwarrior branch had some commonalities with the two.
I’ll probably get the I ’76 section to match the new look next, then get the front page up to snuff. After that, my plan is to get the Deus Ex and Heavy Gear sections matching.
Also, I’d like to get some MWO online info up. I’ve been playing the thing since June of last year, so you’d think it’d be about time for me to ramble on about the game. Should be happening soon.
In the basement of Picus media lurks the influence of strange and mysterious group – the Illuminati. Perhaps even more strange and mysterious, though, is lead Picus report Eliza Cassan. What’s her secret? Time to find out.
Illuminati – with cloaking technology. Me – in an airvent. Sounds about right. I hide in the airvent and take potshots at the invisible assailants in the basement of Picus TV. With a bit of timing and patience, I manage to take them all out, using a combination of my trusty shotgun and combat rifle – the shotgun for close range and the rifle for longer range. I even use my upgraded, laser-guided pistol for a little accurate shooting. (more…)
Out of Hengsha and back to Detroit. Scratch that, there’s a change in plans. Instead, it’s off to Montreal to visit Picus media, the largest infotainment company in the world, to find their lead reporter, Eliza Cassan.
“Back to Detroit,” says Malik.
“No,” Jensen interrupts. “Montreal.” (more…)
After finding Van Bruggen’s tapes, it’s time to pay a visit to the head of Tai Yong Medical herself, causing mass chaos along in the way in Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
Upstairs are cubicles and the wonderfully decorated offices of Tai Yong’s head honchos. The offices have very modern, IKEA-styled furniture, adorned with wood laminate floors and stone masonry on the walls for good measure. I spend most of this time hacking computers and perusing e-mails, eventually working my way to the final elevator that leads directly to the penthouse and VP of the company.
I’m struck. Not by a bullet, but by the view. It’s a modern palace up here. Blade Runner inspirations abound, as a a soft warm light radiates through the windows and onto large polygonal statues. As beautiful as the place is, I have a sinking feeling; there’s no way that there’s a big open space with conveniently placed hiding spots unless a fight is coming. (more…)
Van Bruggen’s buried some video in the data server at Tai Yong Medical. Gotta track it down, although there’s a laser grid and security guards in the way.
Up some more steps, which lead to yet even more offices and more computers. I give up on being completely stealthy, opting instead to sneak behind people just long enough to take them down. It’s paying off, and I’m able to reach the server room by taking down a couple of guards in this manner. The room is booby trapped. There’s a big laser grid running around it, preventing me from easily sneaking through, so I decide to rectify the situation with an EMP grenade. (more…)
Upper Hengsha – maybe its entirety was cut from the game, but we get to experience a bit of it with Tai Yong Medical – a beautiful augmentation manufacturing facility that uses Lower Hengsha as a backdrop.
Wow, the Tai Yong Medical Center is pretty damn fancy. That’s expected for a facility that’s making bank selling cutting edge (and potentially knock-off) augmentations. Warm sunlight shines through the floor-to-ceiling windows and the lower city of Hengsha fills the horizon. There are a lot of researchers around, and a couple of guards to boot. I’ve got to get into the research labs, but the guard won’t let me through without a pass. (more…)
A quickie in Human Revolution – I walk into Tai Yong Medical and travel through the maintenance section of the building to reach the top.
I take the train to the upper city. There, I find some maintenance tubes. A guy in a chemical suit seems to have gotten himself into a bit of a pickle and has poison gas filling his room. His head piece is cracked and no doubt left alone, he’ll die. I can’t help but want to a help a person who needs some help, so I head over to the door. It’s locked. Time to put my hacking skills to use for the good side. I go and fail not once, but twice. Shit. And now security is coming after me. Ok, quick takedown and security is no longer a threat. One last try, and I’m able to open the door. I go in, turn the gas chamber off and then clear some boxes out of the way. As a reward, our new friend says that the security guy Lee will let us through. Oops, sorry Lee.
Further into the maintenance area, I find a trusty air vent. The air vent leads to a pretty good fall, and after falling off just about everything in Detroit, I’ve learned that’s not a good thing, so I’m willing to spend some Praxis points on the Icarus landing system. It does the trick and Jensen coasts the last few feet of the fall in third-person. The animation for it is a bit over-the-top for my taste, but it works, so I can’t complain. The air duct opens and shit… I set of an alarm. An alarm with robots. And guards. A bunch of them. My stealth expertise is short lived.
I hide in the air vent and take pot shots until I toast all of the guards. My silenced combat rifle works well with the distance. The robot is a bit stronger, so I use my shotgun upgrade – I can set it to fire two rounds at once for twice the damage. After a little work, the robot is toast, too.
Time to find the elevator to the Medical Center upstairs.
Van Bruggen, “Windmill” as he’s better known, can get access to Tai Yong Medical. But first, a few last cases to close before leaving lower Hengsha: find a murderer and find a missing girl.
Those pods? They weren’t just a bad, long-term hotel. They’re basically beds in stacked caskets. Rent an enclosed bunk bed. Cheap? Probably. Nice? Hell no. But, there’s a ton of them in a small space, so there’s plenty of exploring to do. I find some info about Malik’s friend in one of these pods. I also pass by an airduct that strangely leads back to the entrance of the place. On the third floor are several of these pods full of computer servers. Right next to them is our hacker friend, Van Bruggen.
Van Bruggen admits to using the hacker back in Detroit and he points us to the Upper Area of Hengsha – that’s where we need to go. As we discuss the finer points of life, chaos ensues. Belltower security is bursting through the place and they’re taking no prisoners. Gotta escape. (more…)
Hengsha is big, big, big. And full of merchants, vendors, pedestrians and clubs, to boot. In Part 6 of Human Revolution, we infiltrate a penthouse, visit the Hive, and meet Tong.
Hengsha’s huge. Really Huge. Really, really huge. I’m lost in the game. And this time, I’m lost in the sense that I can’t get my bearings. I refuse to turn on any sort of quest arrow. I want to work my way through and discover things on own, even accidentally or out of frustration. Malik lands me on the rooftops of some hotel building. Almost immediately, I see a couple of working girls on the roof, one of which has a Chinese accent and one of which very much does not. I talk with them and get the scoop that there’s a fight between a girl and the owner inside. I walk into the building, head down a floor and listen to their argument. He wants her to get augmented; she doesn not. Augmented girls make all the money, it seems. (more…)
Local Ditch Gaming
