Foreword (Report #004)

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☉ Platform: PlayStation 3
₪ Genre: Action, Adventure, Platformer
☑ Release date: November 2007
♬ Soundtrack: Nate's Theme and Sir Francis Drake

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To say I'm fashionably late to the Uncharted series would be an understatement at this point and it is entirely a situation of my own making. Neither of the two series that would become archetypal third-person shooters of the modern age – Uncharted and Gears of War – really interested me back in the day so I reckoned it was time to correct that oversight. Well, at least the former because I have a PS3 readily available so no, I'm not playing the remastered version.

Game opens to our hero Nathan Drake and his unlikely partner Elena Fisher, who is honestly just there to get footage for her show, getting themselves into a pickle as a raiding party of pirates ambushes them on the boat just as they were in the middle of opening an ancient sarcophagus Drake recovered from the bottom of the sea. Elena is disappointed because the damn thing is apparently empty, but our leading man looks content as he recovers a small journal of Sir Francis Drake, his presumed ancestors and this seems to be a very solid clue about El Dorado, mythical city of gold. In the middle of their kerfuffle with the pirates Drake's partner Sully shows up with a seaplane to save them and the two, after ditching Elena and thinking they can't endanger her, gather up all the clues, consider debts and embark to locate the treasure somewhere in the Amazon...

I think it would be almost unfair to just blurt the summary of the game's opening act without going into the structure of the story overall for a bit longer. This is basically an Indiana Jones adventure when you get down to it, sans the globe trotting. Uncharted is structured as a movie, but without really falling into the trap of modern games that want to be experiences and forget they're games. You have your not-really-a-rogue with the heart of gold and his mentor with financial problems who research and hit up ruins to sell what they find... which somehow makes them different from the opposing group(s) you fight in the game? I guess they're not cruel mercenaries who sell out to the highest bidder, but at their core they're kin. Game simply obfuscates Drake's and Sully's motivations with their lovable personality and charm, even Elena is presented as someone who can hold her own and no one really comes off as a stereotype. I'd wager good money that Amy Hennig was heavily responsible for the direction writing took and make no mistake – Uncharted is written extremely well, it's just that all writing is in the service of the type of game it is. Except for the villains, really. Their background with our hero is mentioned tangentially, but we the players have no idea where they know each other from. From what I understood there was a prequel motion comic released prior to the game, but it's not in the game so we'll do without.

With story out of the way let's get into gameplay and mechanics for a bit.

While age has obviously caught up with Uncharted and it doesn't look as shiny as it used to, I can safely say it still plays extremely smoothly. Those animations and fluid moment-to-moment gameplay must've been light years ahead of the time and it's no surprise series got the reputation it did on the system. Some of its problems are really endemic to third-person shooters that persist to this day such as sticky cover being too sticky or not sticky enough aka getting killed because Drake decided to hump the wall at the most inopportune time, conveniences like exploding barrels in places they really don't belong or generally fiddly controls when you need finer input. Impressive animations are all fine and dandy, but character should be equally as responsive to match them. I also recall being ragging on Uncharted for poorly realized platforming sections even though I don't really see it. Maybe because video games descended way further into handholding the player since 2007, but having basic cognitive ability to spot where you can jump by paying attention feels nice. There are puzzles, but it's mostly game giving you the solution up-front and you merely have to realize it by turning some statues around or following proper symbols.

Get used to the greenery. It's here to stay.

Surprising absolutely no one, lack of aim assist raises the stakes and puts you on edge.

I'm not sure how safe it is to go into rusty old U-boats. Just saying.

Hey! This was a trip for two.

Did you really think we'd get out of this without a vehicle section?

One other thing that stuck with me were the collectibles you find along your journey in the form of ancient artifacts and relics. I like the fact game never really stops you with a tutorial popup to preach “hey, these are collectibles and you can pick them up” but instead you see something shining at the edge of your vision and go see what it is. This was how I even realized there were things to find which Uncharted then encourages by awarding you with regular trophies for each five found. Game is also loaded with behind the scenes videos/artwork which are tied into your trophy progression so if you feel like unlocking it all you have quite a road ahead of you.

Now, I've touched on some of the negatives but I should point out only real disappointment for me was the lack of enemy variety because it comes down to what gun they're using. Shotgun wielders will close in, snipers will track at distance and can instantly headshot you if you stay still too long, etc. All in all there's about five or six enemy types in the game with one late addition that managed to unnerve me, but that would be spoiling. There is also the matter of weak finale which boils down to a meager gauntlet scenario you have to go through and and equally as unimpressive final boss.

In closure, then. I enjoyed Uncharted: Drake's Fortune more than I expected. It really was a well-realized game from a period when games were less distilled to their basic points. What I mean by that is that it feels “meaty” in a sense there's equal amount of platforming and shooting, interspersed with some puzzles here and there, to not feel too focused on one thing and excellent pacing is probably the game's crowning achievement. I never felt bored for even a second.

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₪ Genre: Action, Adventure, Horror
☑ Publication date: September 2014
⇲ Pages: 120

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I haven't checked out Witcher comics at all so with Dark Horse taking a swing at it I thought I might as well give the damn thing good old college try. This particular House of Glass volume collects all five individual issues in one neat package. Not being used to comics that I actually blazed through it on my first read... and subsequently had to re-read it. Let's see if anything stuck for the second round.

First thing first – you don't really have to be familiar with The Witcher from anywhere else to enjoy this comic. Sure, it helps but throughout more-or-less first two issues Geralt himself, circumstances of the situation he finds himself in and other characters he runs across will explain all the really important bits to you. Geralt is a breed of mutant, man-made type cultivated through a diet of various alchemical ingredients and others, with superior training in combat and magic, but also in what really defines his calling of being a monster slayer – keen sense to intuit and parse situations because not everything can be resolved by simply killing someone nor is everything like it appears to be at first glance. His kind is needed to common people and kings alike who cannot practically solve crisis involving esoteric curses, monster on the loose, etc yet Witchers are also universally reviled for their abnormality and most would do away with them if only there was a equivalent substitute to be found...

It is this common knowledge that makes the opening scene where Geralt meets a hunter called Jakob distinct because Jakob does not pull back in disgust or fear. Instead, he offers the wandering Witcher to share a meal with him and Geralt responds in kind by pulling a flask of quality wine. Things escalate when a drowner hiding in, well, nearby river almost kills Jakob and Geralt saves him, but it's the good hunter's reason for being so deep inside the forest of Caed Dhu on his own that raises Geralt's interest – Jakob's wife was killed and he feels guilt having failed her. Yet he also points back at a spot where she keeps silently staring at him from time-to-time followed by the sound of songbirds singing. He suspects something fouler is afoot and is determined to stay.

Seeing as his magic-detecting medallion keeps vibrating like crazy ever since he's entered the forest and even strongly after seeing Marta, Geralt extends a helping hand to the poor hunter and we're on our way.

I have not spoiled much, if anything, that you won't find out in the first ten or twelve pages and first issues are pretty much always setting down some ground rules, anyway. Some sacrifices have to be made. Story actually goes places, although there's a very good chance you'll see WHERE it's going with the way Witcher stories develop or by sheer fact the comic is trying to red herring you pretty hard, but at times it's also strangely meandering. Every issue is of course punctuated by something abrupt happening in the eponymous House of Glass and still we find ourselves following Geralt and others discussing nature of things almost nonchalantly. Our protagonist might be used to all of this, but others not so much yet they take it in stride. It's not really a complaint, just an obvious method to control the pace. For once I will restrain from talking about characters because it would be spoiling, though.

Couldn't agree more, Geralt.

Maybe there's loot inside?

That... makes sense, actually.

Come on, you know they were just toll dodgers.

Are those really your last words?

Art? Always one of those aspects that's very difficult [and subjective as well] to talk about due to not being able to show much to you much except out of context screen caps, but I think Joe Querio did a decent job on House of Glass. Certainly not the most mind-blowing drawings I have ever seen, but he strikes a good balance between establishing moody atmosphere with muted and drab colors with stylized and sometimes a bit too simplified character designs, mainly done for the sake of perspective. And productivity, I imagine. You can clearly see cutbacks were made on some pages, specifically when background gets sacrificed so we can get a clearer shot at figures, but this is balanced by larger sections and strips where you see just how much attention can go to backgrounds. Lack of spreads is also obvious, but considering this is not a high action work I can get around that.

I won't waste any more of your time so let's get down to the summary and some closing thoughts. Did I like House of Glass? Yeah, I liked it enough to recommend the comic to others but I would go out on a limb and recommend you still familiarize yourself with The Witcher before diving in. It is explained rather well for first-timers, but you'll get a much better idea about who Geralt is and why he does what he does beyond just the superficial.

Looking forward to checking out more of these.

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₪ Genre: Science Fiction
☑ Publication date: August 1952
⇲ Pages: 186

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Checking out Pohl's writings has been on my to-read list for a while now and though he didn't single-handedly pen The Space Merchants, having co-written it with Kornbluth, it was absolutely a worthwhile read with its satirical take on overt consumerism taken to the extreme in a society with uncomfortable parallels to our own contemporary world. But let's find out how much of an enjoyable read it really was.

As mentioned above it is the future and consumerism has taken over the world. Not only consumerism in its most virulent form, but also one where advertisements and companies who create them are de facto kings of the world, second only to corporations running the world proper with even governments being little than their puppets. It is such a sorry state of affairs that doing things like putting actually addicting additives into foods and drinks is considered perfectly normal and constant aggressive marketing campaigns push it as such to popular who really are little more than literal “consumers” to people making such ads. Necessities like water have become increasingly scarce and are often priced on by-gulp basis, for example. Yet, there is hope that humanity could find new virgin ground to exploit with the possibility that Venus could be colonized. Having confirmed such an opportunity exists it spurs couple of advertising companies to make the idea appealing to population at large in order to justify the costs such a great endeavor would require.

It is in such a world that we see our main character Mitch Courtenay working as a star-class copywriter for Fowler Schocken advertising agency, one that ultimately wins the contract to sell Venus to the public, so to speak. He's very loyal to the idea of Sales and full-heartedly believes his boss Fowler Schocken has the right ideas. Unbeknownst to him, though, a lot is going on behind the scenes – from Fowler Shocken's rival company looking to circumvent corporate rules of “targeted executive hits” on rival companies, ever-growing and seemingly sensible revolutionary movement that's so utterly incomprehensible to corporate world, to ultimately his own life packing a surprise or two.

I'm not sure why it keeps happening in my recent book reviews, but I find myself thinking settings always end up being far more interesting than the characters. Such is the case in The Space Merchants. Courtenay himself is rather well fleshed out, but that's sort of expected from the protagonist – problem is this comes at the expense of pretty much all other characters being tokens and never seeing much development. Hell, some even ingloriously “snap” and are promptly taken out of the story just as you grow attached to them. But to be balanced this is not all horrible bad because, and I'm not spoiling anything when I say this, The Space Merchants is a Mitch Courtenay story as much as it happens to be a commentary of a rather ridiculous world. There is certain charm and dread to a world where most of the foodstuff is regenerated, meat comes from a growing tumor of flesh dubbed “Chicken Little” and your everyday coffee has addictive properties where you need to drink two liters a day to with recommended jug on your nightstand just in case you can't get enough of it. Mmmm-mmmm.

One drawback I could level against the book is that it was too short for my liking. I wanted to see more of this world where merely going outside means packing nose plugs for the unbearable levels of smog, but you do get a very different reversal as far as POV is concerned because all we get for about half a book is the high and mighty inner advertisement company's take. Second half reveals just how utterly ridiculous and naive, to us at least, such a mindset is... not so much to people on the other side of the yoke, though. There is humor in The Space Merchants, but it's definitely rooted in satire and self-realization our protagonist goes through. Sadly, this also reflects itself in Courtenay kinda undergoing radical changes that could be justified and gradually eased into if only authors dedicated more time to them. At one point it seemingly comes off as someone turned the switch and things change simply because it's convenient for the story. That's not really a major negative and I don't phrase it as such on purpose, but I definitely felt something lacking in the characterization department for everyone involved.

Let's get to final words because I can't really talk about the book without spoilers considering much of it is a personal journey. I rather liked The Space Merchants and positives definitely outweigh the few negatives I've listed. Fascinating world , flat characters and future we can only pray never comes to fruition.

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₪ Genre: Horror, Fantasy
☑ Publication date: May 2015
⇲ Pages: 32

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I purposefully chose to read just the very first issue of Harrow County in order to see whether a horror comic can hook me with those initial thirty odd pages. Truth be told, I'm not sure it did such a swell job in that department, but I fully expect a horror-themed work requires certain amount of time to really spread its wings, so to speak, before it can bring all the assets it has to bear.

Surprisingly enough we begin at an earlier point in time prior to when the remainder of the comic takes place. Year is never specified but I'd wager it's most likely somewhere in the early 20th century or so, and we're witnessing a most peculiar event occur – townsfolk are burning a witch. Through the next couple of pages we get to see how she came to find herself ton the tree after folks became too afraid of her and making some educated guesses on HOW she was getting her powers and about the dark company she was keeping when local kids began to disappear. When everything else failed they resorted to burning her on a pyre. As she is burning away she cracks a smile and proclaims to return one day. Whether to mend or hurt, she will return.

That's all in the past, though. Story flashes forward to a young girl waking up after going through some intense nightmares and looking at twisted tree outside her window. She wonders what secrets this stunted tree holds and why she keeps a monstrous version of it in her dreams screaming about lies. Uneasy she tries to go to sleep again. She can't sleep.

Being both the first issue and, well, a single issue poses some problems for Harrow Country because there's a lot of really obvious stuff that makes you wonder whether something else other than expected will come out of it, but you also have to cram in backstory in there. This goes doubly because characters like Emmy and her Pa don't really get much for the reader to really feel attached to on that basic level simply because there isn't enough to generate the connection. Most of what I got is is that she's a girl on the verge of turning eighteen, she's still somewhat childish at heart and wants to maybe see the world but that would mean leaving her Pa behind on a farm all alone. Sure, you can see the potential curves and twists of the story to come based on some events that happen in the issue that her old man is trying to turn a blind eye to, but at first glance it's very archetypal.

Some rule of the thumb is you either have few characters and giv them attention or you have more characters so you can spread it out more evenly. Harrow Country kinda doesn't do either to full extent, but like I said it remains to be seen.

Now you're figuring it out?

Like a BOSS!

Ask yourself – is that really where you want to go?

Might want to consider baptizing in a church next time. Just saying.

I've seen enough hentai to know where this is going.

Painting method of choice is watercolor and Tyler Cook puts it to great use with soft earthen tone for landscapes, but I particularly like the way he employs it on characters for a layered blotchy effect. It really accentuates the shading while keeping it inviting and deceptively simple when you look at it. You'll find nary a sharp line in the entire issue. Even that one ethereal page where changing the art style for dramatic effect would've been perfectly acceptable is instead realized through appropriately outlandish color palette. The way characters look also fits into overall art style, but I'd air on the side of obvious and say their designs are somewhat bland. That's not necessarily bad taking into account the time period and locale. This is helped greatly by artist's ability to convey so much of it through characters' facial expressions.

In conclusion you might be wondering why I haven't given it a thumbs up? Because I don't think the premise is that well realized and it didn't hook me personally with all the not-so-subtle foreshadowing. Art looks great and even the writing is up there for what it is, but I'm skeptical about continuing because either A) I can tell where this is going and that's not really engaging or B) author will throw a twist or two at me just to keep it going. Maybe I'm just pigheaded for no real reason?

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₪ Genre: Fantasy, Steampunk
☑ Publication date: September 2014
⇲ Pages: 72

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Clocking at more than double the number of pages you expect to see in a comic Monstress had me intrigued from the start. These additional pages are certainly well used to even give couple of flashbacks as scene setters for what is happening in the present, but this never overtakes the main body of the story. This was also another case of deciding to just read the first issue to see if it would hook me. Before I dive into I guess it should be said, when you look at the writer and artist, it's not that much of a surprise to see some Asian aesthetics going around.

Let's get down to it.

We open to a nude girl with some strategic hair position to cover the contentious parts, seeing as we don't have full-frontal nudity. She has a strange symbol on her chest and is missing one arm, as well as sporting a chain around her neck as she's being paraded to a gathered score of potential buyers. She's apparently an Arcanic, but just close enough to pass for human as she doesn't have any obvious physical markings like animal ears and whatnot. All these plans fall through as she, and other Arcanics with more obvious characteristics, are “donated” to striking lady Cumaea... whoever she may be. Later as they're all being driven via coach to the Cumaea estate our protagonist Maika finds out the lady's name is Sophia Fekete and getting bought by her is fate considered worse than death for she's a scientist and experiments on her slaves. Before she inevitably kills them, that is. All this makes even less sense when you take into account that Mika CHOSE to become a slave so she can get close to someone and has a dastardly revenge plan on her stoic mind.

As far as premises go this isn't a horrible one. Cliche, but solid. It's also somewhat enhanced by two points; Mika and Sophia have a history, although one of them is unaware of it, and flashback talks with Mika's friend Tuya give partial context to how she got here. It's mainly teasing and pretty transparent foreshadowing, but it does the job of reader not feeling completely like a fish out of water. Bulk of the story still happens at the estate/laboratory as, well, I'm sure you can figure out what happens. I do wish they didn't go with a “she has a mysterious power” idea of a character but taking into account it's not all just power fantasy and there's a serious drawback attached it evens out. That also ties into Maika searching what her mother was doing and if it all ties together somehow.

But really I think the setting is far more interesting in Monstress than any of the characters or story I've seen so far. Whole thing appears to a very weird turn-of-the-century China where magic and technology co-exist with one another. Major defining aspect appears to be a war between matriarchal and technologically-driven Motherland and, what I presume because we don't exactly see much of their society, animistic and magic-relying Arcanics. There's a wall there somewhere and being on the wrong side is disastrous as you end up sold into slavery which is where the real horror happens – Arcanics' bodies can be distilled into material called Lilium which has magical properties. Or, you know, someone people just cut body parts from Arcanics and eat them. Those are the rumors, at least...

You know your comic is off to a great start when artist is covering both potential fanbases.

I wasn't aware I wandered into a slasher movie.

There's a roaring endorsement if I ever read one.

Drop the beats, you strange cat entity, you.

One individual here is seriously contemplating his poor life choices.

Tying into the above, this rich and sophisticated looking civilization is brought exquisitely to paper by Sana Takeda. She's not content to leave any surface plain and this comes through with everything looking really... textured, I suppose? Just to contrast that flashback scenes, which take place elsewhere, have a much more subdued and faded presence. Compared to some other recent artists I've looked at Takeda is certainly not trying to hide her lines and instead makes use of them for a very clearly defined look to her art style. You won't miss any details with this one

Monstress is certainly among those stories that can and should grow to become really amazing, but the foundation present here is solid and can be safely built upon with future issues. I do wish the writing was a bit better and less on the nose in regards to immediate plot, but you take what you have when there's an entire world to build and you have to a story run with. Eye-pleasing visuals, in more ways than one, certainly helped to bring me into the world and to see more of it in the future.

Pretty solid recommendation, but don't expect outlandish originality so far.

⏪ What is it?

Arena Net's sequel to fantasy MMORPG CORPG that was Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2 was quite a surprise... in both good and bad, depending on who you ask. It was still a fantasy game, but this time going full proper MMORPG route more familiar to players from, well, most of the genre. It also kept the Buy2Play model aka buy the game and its yours to play forever without any subscription fee attached. Of course, there were microtransactions ranging from costumes, boosts and account unlocks like more storage, etc but none of that is really Pay2Win because of how Guild Wars 2 works as a very cooperative game outside of PvP. Speaking of PvP game also adopted old Dark Age of Camelot's RvR (Realm versus Realm) for massive skirmishes alongside more standard arena matches. It is worth noting that story also received a rather large shift towards a more direct Personal Story format with level-locked episodes to plow through.

⚫ How did I get involved?

I was a fan of the original but even back when I had a lot more free time I never really good to play it that much. It was still enough to get me hyped about Guild Wars 2 and devs were certainly saying all the stuff I wanted to hear so I jumped on couple of Beta weekends prior to release. Surprisingly enough, I was not disappointed even if there were major changes to, and I hesitate to say this, streamline the sequel for the mythical “wider audience”. Come release I skipped it because, say it with me, no free time only to buy it couple of months later, play for some odd weeks and once again put it aside. Living Story system of updates where Arena Net would release a new content patch every two-three weeks and put it a on a timer certainly drew me back, but it was mainly to check it out for the novelty and than log out. This went on for months and I accomplished very little.

⏩ My opinion on it now?

Well – Heart of Thorns expansion came and went, Living Story became Living World and temporary updates became permanent but also fewer releasing new episodes every three months or so, a lot more costumes and conveniences were added to the cash ship without compromising developer's “no Pay2Win” principle as far as I'm concerned, and PvP audience still complaints about balance or lack thereof. In a sense, Guild Wars 2 has slowed down with people clamoring for another expansion and I'm right there with them. Out of few modern MMORPGs I've played this is the one I'd be most inclined to return to simply because it avoided that vertical progression trap most of the genre tends to fall into. Gearing for proper stat progression was never a problem in Guild Wars 2 because what you had to grind for was cosmetics, whether you did PvE, PvP or a mix of both, and it was a big deal provided you wanted to stand out. If not and you don't care much for socialization this is the kind of game you can power through in a week or two. I would point that game's approach to questing by going with something like Dynamic Events really makes for a different experience compared to what you may be used to.

I wonder if [BLEEP] will stand the test of time after [BLEEP].

Trahearne – one of the most divisive figures in Guild Wars 2, as seen by game's fanbase.

C-captain Harlock!?!

⏪ What is it?

Imagine you could play not only KotOR3 but also the fourth, fifth, sixth, etc. That was the initial idea behind Star Wars: The Old Republic before changes so bad they made Bioware employees cry were enforced on the project by EA due to matters of marketability. End result was a pretty much a by-the-numbers MMORPG of its time and carrying within a lot of that WotLK-era design, but most importantly it was sold on Bioware signature storytelling except this time with multiplayer so you can play with your friends. With full voice acting, no less! Sadly, game failed to retain expected number of subscribers so Free2Play model was implemented, followed soon by a pretty heavy-handed cash shop that locked or limited a lot of the functionality for Free players.

⚫ How did I get involved?

Unless my memory is playing tricks on me I distinctly remember playing The Old Republic with a RL friend during one of the Beta weekends and we really liked what we saw. Not playing afterward didn't prevent me from hearing second hand stories about what he was experiencing – varying quality of class stories and game built for “singleplayer fans who hate the MMO aspect”, but still enjoyable because Star Wars. Free2Play rolled in and I finally jumped on-board as did a lot of players who didn't feel like paying for the state game was in. Hell, I even bought couple of things to make life easier and got bumped to Preferred status which alleviated some of the restrictions. Then expansions happened and at that point I was exhausted because A) raiding wasn't my jam due to scheduling and B) caps on dungeons and gear being locked behind a paywall really turned me off.

⏩ My opinion on it now?

It has only gotten worse, sadly. If you're into Star Wars you've already probably checked The Old Republic out. If you're a Star Wars fan and play MMORPGs you're most likely already playing. Class stories are generally interesting even considering they were not created equal, but whoever said it first nailed it right in the head – The Old Republic really is played by people who are in it for the story. Last two “episodic expansions” only confirm that and broadcast Bioware also understands that's the majority of their remaining audience. Expansions you can't really buy, mind you, only get by subscribing. Cash shop seems to get most of the attention these days with gear and mount re-skins for people who get their monthly stipends from subscription. As much as it pains me to say this I'm very unlikely to ever return to The Old Republic unless Bioware actually remembers it's an MMORPG first.

I agree. Maybe there are more colors there because the green is killing me.

Oooh, girl!

Guess who's not rolling for pants on account of being immaterial?

⏪ What is it?

Have you ever wanted to feel really stupid? Then The Secret World just might be right for you. Third MMORPG from Norwegian developer Funcom certainly stands out and for more than just its contemporary setting compared to so many fantasy games in the genre. According to insider scoop it was supposed to be a singleplayer adventure, but Funcom management changed their mind after seeing how much Dreamfall: The Longest Journey got pirated. Like so many other it launched with a box price, but also with a subscription fee and microtransactions from the get-go. If you ask me I think the reason for game's change of business model to Buy2Play was mainly incentivized by the fact it was an MMORPG not really aimed at MMORPG fans.

⚫ How did I get involved?

Aside from a brief stint from a free trial code, as in less than 48 hours of which I've maybe played four or so, provided by a friendly anonymous person I've actually stayed completely clear of The Secret World. Which is odd because I liked both of Funcom's The Longest Journey adventures and even got Age of Conan before it went Free2Play. It simply never factored in for me until they changed the business model to Buy2Play. Then I got it and some overheating issues conspired to keep me away, but what I played briefly really impressed me with Investigation Missions ranging from brain teasers to “pulling my hair out because I can't read Aramaic” difficult. Not to say all Missions are like that, but there's enough of them around to make an impression and I was lucky to have a preference for these things.

⏩ My opinion on it now?

The Secret World has done well for itself since the transition to Buy2Play model – paid DLC, unless you subscribe, come out adding new missions and story arcs. Not all of those are the same, some being couple of missions added to existing zones while others are newly added zones with all that entails, but quality has always been there. It should also be pointed out Funcom committed to extensive engine retooling for increased performance and not so long ago even re-balanced the game on the most basic level by going through enemy's health, damage, etc resulting in much better pace, which in particular affected some areas like Egypt that used to be a huge slog. All in all, The Secret World is pretty top tier game provided you actually like what it's peddling. That being engaging puzzles, probably the tightest stories around and extensive character customization, both visually and in abilities.

Do you feel lucky, punks?

What's a small-time Sheriff to do when Cthulhu cosplayers invade?

Some of the impact is lost when you realize she was handcuffed to the bed couple of hours ago.