Strictly Come Dancing 2019 Part 5
Although Saturday night provided yet another excellent show, Strictly Come Dancing was notable for the absence of audience favourite Will Bayley. The Paralympian injured himself during training after he jumped from a table whilst practising his jive routine. According to Will “I jumped off a table. And as I landed, I landed with straightened legs,” he explained. “I thought I broke my leg because I never felt anything like it before. To hear the words I absolutely can’t dance was just really gutting for me. But I need to recover now and come back even stronger next week”. Thankfully, the comprehensive rules that govern Strictly allows for a week’s absence due to injury. However, if Will cannot resume dancing for next Saturday’s show, then he may have to retire from the entire series. If this does unfortunately happen, then it will also require the show’s producers to revise the schedule with regard to future eliminations, so that Strictly continues to follow the pre-set timetable.
LOTRO: The Calm Before the Storm
I have been absent from The Lord of the Rings Online for several month, only checking in intermittently. When I do, I still tend to focus on levelling my High Elf Guardian who is currently tentatively progressing through the dour and grindy Mordor expansion. Since July my primary character, a level cap Lore-master, has been standing outside Beorninghús idly staring at Grimbeorn with only a few quests in the Vale of Anduin completed. However, because The Elder Scrolls Online was down for emergency maintenance today, I decided to return to LOTRO and see if I could make inroads into this outstanding update in preparation for the release of the Minas Morgul expansion on November 5th. As a zone, the vales of the Anduin and is the polar opposite of the grim, rocky environment of the Grey Mountains. It is verdant, spacious and often has clear blue skies. Yes there are fog banks and areas of shaded woodlands but it is far from a brooding and oppressive region.
Taking What You Don’t Need
Every couple of weeks, I log into the Epic Store to see what free games they are giving away. As they’re really trying to secure their share of the market and establish themselves as a clear alternative to Steam, there are plenty of exclusives games and freebies to be found. The ethics of this business approach is a separate issue and not one that I shall address in this post. Let it suffice to say that the concept of the “Loss Leader” is a long standing business tactic. When I logged in today, I saw that both Alan Wake’s American Nightmare and Observer were available for free. The latter interested me because it features voice acting by the late Rutger Hauer. So I duly added them to my game library. The same game library that currently consists of 30 games but only one of which I have paid for. A library that despite its size and wide variety of genres, I’ve only played two of the titles therein. Furthermore, there’s a similar story to tell with regard to Twitch Prime. I log in and check to see what freebies are of on offer, so I can also add them to another redundant library.
Progressing in an Orderly Fashion in ESO
Whenever I start a new MMO I tend to research the various classes and make an informed decision about which one to choose as my primary character. This policy has worked out well over the years and therefore compared to other players, I don’t have multiple alts across numerous games. That’s not to say that I’m averse to creating a new character, I simply need a good reason to do so. When I do, its usually because there’s an option to experience a different story. Hence, I currently have three alts in The Elder Scrolls Online. Last night I reached the current level cap of 50 with my Imperial Dragonknight, having recently completed the Daggerfall Covenant storyline. I have now experienced all three faction stories (which I have enjoyed) and more importantly, have learned what is the best way for me to progress through the game. ESO offers players the chance to play the MMO in a manner that suits them. If you want to simply travel Tamriel and do things as you go along, then you may. It’s a very flexible in this respect. But if you want to play in a more structured way, it can be a little confusing navigating a linear path. So here are a few tips I’ve learned the hard way.
We Are Our Own Worst Enemy
Over the last five years, there has been an ever-increasing degree of monetisation in mainstream video games. The situation has sparked debate not only among gamers but also in the mainstream press. Loot boxes and the entire business model of “pay to start” has finally reached the scrutiny of several national governments. Furthermore, the triple A video games industry has been held to account and pressed to justify such practises. Yet despite the public attention and a degree of pushback from some gamers, the situation doesn’t in anyway look like it’s going to be resolved. In fact sales data seems to show that despite some negative coverage both in the video games media and the traditional press, games with egregious business models are far from being rejected by customers. Quite the opposite. Ironically two of the worst offenders that have recently been held up as games that exploit gamers financially, have just achieved record sales. Both Mario Kart Tour and NBA 2K20 have proven to be massive hits.
Strictly Come Dancing 2019 Part 4
Week 5 of Strictly Come Dancing once again saw some significant improvement among the celebrity dancers. Most notable were Alex Scott and Neil Jones who delivered a very enthusiastic Charleston. For the first time it appeared that both the technical and performance aspects of dancing “clicked” for Alex. After being saved by the judges in last week’s dance-off, Emma Weymouth and Aljaž Škorjanec's put on a beautiful display with their Viennese Waltz. The judge’s marks reflected their progress respectively by all awarding 9 marks out of 10. Then there was Will Bayley and Janet Janette Manrara whose emotional contemporary dance left judges Motsi Mabuse and Alfonso Ribeiro in tears. Will said before this year’s series that he was taking part in Strictly to “inspire people with a disability”. He certainly seems to be doing so and his commitment to the show and his constant training have earned him a strong fan base among viewers.
Minas Morgul Preview
I spent several hours today on the Bullroarer test server, checking out the preview of the forthcoming Minas Morgul expansion for The Lord of the Rings Online. From a lore perspective this is a great zone and it neatly fills the geographical gap between Morgul Vale in North Ithilien and Gorgoroth in Mordor. As ever the visual style and sense of continuity is very good and Standing Stone Games have gone all in on atmosphere and ambience. The new area is often dimly lit, filled with fog and Minas Morgul itself has an eerie supernatural phosphorescence. Once again, I simply contented myself with just exploring the area and did not attempt any quests (apart from one to access a new instanced area). Let us not forget that this is a preview and therefore there is always potential for change. The new areas at present appear to be relatively clear of mobs and other sundry threats, so initially navigation between stables was relatively straight forward. However, the main fortresses of Minas Morgul and Bar Nirnaeth are densely populated with robust mobs.
Skills Rotation
While conducting some general housekeeping in The Lord of the Rings Online, I decided upon streamlining my “quickslots” as developers Standing Stone Games refers to them. Being an MMORPG from well over a decade ago, the game has a multitude of skills. By the time your character reaches level cap of 120, it is entirely possible to have filled all 72 of the available slots. If you have a combat pet, then you’ll receive another 11 buttons to “mash”. Now this situation got me thinking. I recollect a conversation I had about a year ago, when I was doing some group content in LOTRO. It wasn’t going especially well so there was a discussion about tactics and what specific skills to use. To cut a long story short, it became apparent that many players (including myself) did not know the exact name of all the skills that adorned their quickslots. Furthermore not everyone was au fait with the nature and purpose of each skill and how one could trigger another. Similarly not all were aware that some skills could be augmented by the use of another.
Strictly Come Dancing 2019 Part 3
Well Saturday night’s show was an utter revelation. Many of the celebrity dancers who have been previously at the lower end of the leaderboard and therefore at risk of being in the dance off, decided to significantly up their game. Not only did this make for great entertainment, it also succinctly reiterated one of the fundamental aspects of what makes Strictly Come Dancing so popular; the “journey”. Yes, it is an incredibly cliched phrase but its something that seems to resonate with viewers. If the UK does have any national characteristics, then one of them is an appreciation of dogged determination. We tend to warm towards plucky underdogs who improve through hard work and dedication. And that is what we were treated to on last night’s show.
Dragon Farming, Black Dots and Continuity
I logged into The Elder Scrolls Online today to do some Dragon farming. The Dragon Rise event includes both an XP and gold acquisition boost throughout Northern Elsweyr. Broadly, speaking this is a similar activity to Dolmen farming in the Alik’r Desert, although it is time sensitive as the event ends on Monday October 14th. There are three locations around the zone where Dragons regularly spawn and attack. Although it is possible to travel between these locations using the Star Haven, The Stitches and Scar’s End Wayshrines, it is not easy to do so. You need a fast mount and to be well acquainted with the topographical foibles of the region. I prefer to stay at one location and remain part of the loitering zerg. The Dragons arrive at approximately ten-minute intervals and if there are more than twenty or so players, dies very quickly. If there is less of you, then it can be quite tricky. Situational awareness is the key to success. Keep an eye on the Dragon and where you’re standing. It’s certainly safer if you used ranged attacks.
The Cost of Doing Business with China
In the last few days, a great deal has been written about Activision Blizzard and their subsequent banning of a Hearthstone player who expressed support for the Hong Kong protestors during a competition live stream. The US-based game developer and publisher has also chosen to withhold the prize money he would have earned from competing in the tournament. As a result of this media coverage, I do not feel obliged to address the rectitude of Blizzard’s decision. It was never going to be anything different than what it was. They made their choice regarding ethics and morality the moment they decided to expand their business operations in mainland China. Because once you decided to enter into a business partnership with a totalitarian regime that actively runs “re-education camps”, you’ve pretty much nailed your colours to the mast and chosen a side. It’s not just business, despite what apologists may tell you. Judge a man or a business by the company they keep.
Two Worlds II: The Game That Keeps on Giving?
I’m suffering from a distinct sense of déjà vu as I write this post, as feel I’ve written something very similar before. Actually, I know perfectly well that I have and here’s the previous blog post. So, once again let’s recapitulate what was previously discussed. Back in 2014, I was searching for another RPG to fill that post Skyrim vacuum. I ended up buying Two Worlds II and its expansion, Pirates of the Flying Fortress. There was an exceptionally well-priced bundle available at the time. Furthermore, a little research showed that this game by German developers Reality Pump Studios, had quite a following. So I invested about 90 hours of my time into this franchise and enjoyed it far more than I expected. The game visually has a lot of rough edges. There are weird character models and a rather ponderous propensity of using faux "Olde English" in all dialogue. But the games core systems are great. Crafting and spells have a great deal of depth. There’s a wide variety of weapons and armour. Plus there’s sailing. I really dig this aspect of the game.
Strictly Come Dancing Versus Dancing with the Stars
As I’ve mentioned before, the one piece of reality TV that I avidly watch is Strictly Come Dancing. I’ve been a regular viewer since 2005. Once you’ve got your head around the format and have fully understood what the show is and is not, it makes for entertaining viewing. Strictly is not a pure dance competition by any shakes. If it were, then the public wouldn’t have any say in who remained on the show and it would all be left to the professional judges. But such a show would have very limited appeal. Hence, we have audience participation and all the theatrics of reality television. Talent and ability can be trumped by popularity and frequently is. Over the last fifteen years, the shows formula has been finely tuned and we now find ourselves with a very controlled format. The broad spectrum of celebrities fulfil the role of various archetypes and the judges all have distinct roles to play. But at its heart the show is still about people learning to dance (or not) and that is a difficult skill to master. For me therein lies the entertainment.
Strictly Come Dancing 2019: Part 2
There really is an excess of genuine talent in this year’s show. It’s week three and the standard has been raised yet again. Michelle Visage and Giovanni Pernice delivered a smouldering Quickstep to Cabaret, proving once again that it is unwise to write anyone off based purely on age. Furthermore actress Catherine Tyldesley dancing with Johannes Radebe stunned the audience and judges alike with a Rumba to the ballad Shallow from the film A Star is Born. The Rumba is a notoriously difficult dance to perform and to pull off such a feat so early on in the season was quite incredible. And we were also treated to our first Street Dance, with Dev Griffin and Diane Buswell performing an outstanding Aladdin themed routine. Considering that Diane had an accident during the week, it made such an assured performance even more remarkable. And let us not forget Kelvin Fletcher and Oti Mabuse’s robust Charleston.
The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)
Written by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker and directed by John Landis, The Kentucky Fried Movie is an eclectic collection of skits, parodies and bogus commercials, lampooning what you’d see on seventies TV or in the movie theatres of the time. The sketches are fast paced and many feature well known faces from TV and cinema such as Bill Bixby, George Lazenby, Donald Sutherland and Henry Gibson. Some of the parodies may not “connect” with modern audiences who may not get the source references but for every skit that misses the mark, there are at least two others hit the target. Overall, it’s a litany of visual gags, stupid humour and endless puns and wordplay. Just what you’d expect from the team that went on to bring you Airplane! and Top Secret! The Kentucky Fried Movie is at its best when it satirises the movie industry, with such wonderful faux movies trailers as Cleopatra Schwartz; a blaxploitation action movie featuring a foxy African American vigilante and her devout Hasidic Jew partner.
A Month in Gaming
September saw The Elder Scrolls Online becoming my primary gaming focus. No real surprises there as I’ve been having so much fun of late with this MMORPG. I managed to get my Argonian Necromancer to level cap and then had the fun task of trying to equip them suitably. I don’t quite know why this aspect of gaming appeals to me so much but I just get a real kick out of trawling around looking for appropriate gear. I tend to enjoy it in all the MMOs I play. There’s just something inherently satisfying about equipping a new piece of armour or jewellery and seeing your stats noticeably increase. This process is even more enjoyable in ESO as there isn’t any server wide auction house, so you have to travel around from region to region, individually checking each guild trader you find. It really is virtual shopping. Once I managed to find the right gear for this character, I promptly created a new Imperial Dragon Knight and started playing through the Daggerfall Covenant storyline as it the one faction I haven’t yet completed. Oh and in ESO cosmetic pet news, the ghost chicken (official name Spectral Chicken) is outstanding.
Excessive Monetisation
I have numerous happy memories from playing Super Mario Kart on the SNES back in the early nineties. It was at the time and remains so today, a truly great game because it’s fun, very accessible and inherently social. Hence over the years there have been multiple iterations of Mario Kart across all of Nintendo’s platforms. All of which have been well received and provided gamers with what they want. In many ways it is one of key titles that have made Nintendo a global success as a gaming company and a brand. If you see any advertising featuring Mario and friends in go-karts, then it can be taken as read that the game will be a yet another great instalment of the franchise. Or can it? Which brings me neatly (and sadly not happily) to Mario Kart Tour; Nintendo’s latest foray on mobile platforms.
Destiny 2 Goes F2P
I bought Destiny 2 shortly after it originally launched in October 2017, mainly due to the positive word of mouth comments of friends and colleagues. I got a good deal at the time from an online CD key vendor. As I have enjoyed FPS titles in the past and Destiny 2 also has elements of the MMORPG genre, I spent some time in-game levelling my character. Certainly I had no complaints about the nuts and bolts of the game. The graphics are good and the games systems appropriate and responsive. Combat is fast and dynamic and there is always something to do if you just wanted to jump into some action. But after some time my interest in the game waned. The central story wasn’t exactly compelling and as I was playing solo, there wasn’t any strong social aspect keeping me logging in. So after a few months I stopped playing and moved on to something else.
The Idiot Box
Thoughts on TV shows and my current viewing habits.
In August Elementary finally came to an end after seven years. The last season spanned a tighter than usual 13 episodes and introduced a new and very contemporary archnemesis; tech giant Odin Reichenbach (James Frain). Although it can be argued that the story arc was very formulaic, it also drew upon many elements of Conan Doyle’s original stories. Holmes realises that he may have to sacrifice himself to take down a foe and protect those nearest to him. Then there is the issues of his “death”. For many viewers such as myself, the final season wasn’t so much about a clever narrative but simply seeing what happened to all the major cast members. Broadly, it was all very satisfactory. Spoiler Alert. Captain Gregson retired and Marcus remained at the NYPD instead of taking his position with the US Marshal service. Joan finally adopted a child and Morland was killed while trying to broker one of his high-level deals. All story lines were brought to a neat and acceptable end. Furthermore the door was clearly left open for a future revival of the show if required.
Strictly Come Dancing 2019: Part 1
There is obviously some sort of psychological comfort in being spoon fed the same content, again and again and again. Because that is what Strictly Come Dancing, the BBC’s flagship Autumn entertainment show, definitely does. And I don’t mean that in a derogatory way, because once again, I am one of the 8 million viewers avidly watching this seasonal ritual. But is must be said, that the show is incredibly formulaic and that the production team are expert at playing upon all the foibles of the format. Hence every September we get a wide spectrum of “celebrities” eager to learn how to dance. All of whom fall neatly into the various categories that have been established over the last 15 years. There are those who display an innate ability right from the start. Then there are the determined improvers. We also have wild cards whose content wildly changes in quality. Another favourite are the rhythmically challenged whose embarrassing failures are deemed “entertaining”. And let us not forget those who are just hopelessly out of their depth and you know are going to fall at the very first hurdle.