I got only a few hours left before I take my annual break on blogging. Before I run out of time, I want to talk to you about this awesome game.
I bought Hogwarts Legacy for my wife on the Xbox. I myself wasn't actually interested in this game. I thought the game was a bit over-hyped, plus it came with a lot of controversy surrounding its development. So yeah, I didn't really care for the game early on. But after seeing my wife play it and seeing her go through the sorting hat ceremony, I was intrigued.
So I eventually gave it a try. What I found was a really compelling game. The game developers did a great job of bringing the Wizarding world from the Harry Potter books to life. My wife is really addicted to the game now. And if I'm being honest with myself, so am I.
Bruno Fernandes and Donny van de Beek, both have the Creative Playmaker playing style now in my Master League season. What a welcome change it has been for my 4-4-2 diamond formation.
Previously, both players had the Hole Player playing style. This meant that once we get the ball on offense, they would try to rush forward to get into an attacking position. This leaves my CMF/DMF with no one to pass to in the center of the field. Without being able to get it to my AMF, I cannot do play-through passes to my CF or SS. But with the Creative Playmaker playing style, they would actually get into a position to receive a pass from my CMF, LMF or RMF. This allows my offense to flow through the middle. And it allows me to use them to make the final through pass that can lead to goals.
This is not to say that having a Hole Player AMF is useless in a 4-4-2 diamond formation. You just have to play a little differently. Meaning you have to anticipate the forward run by your AMF and play the long ball, or play through the wings.
I for one am a big fan of the Lightning Rod and use it as much as possible in any Minecraft Dungeon build I make. It is in my experience, one of the best sources of single target damage in the game. And since it has a very low cool-down, you can use it frequently against tough enemies.
Me and my son defeated the Tempest Golem a few months ago (this game log is months behind). The key was to focus on clearing out one zone at a time. There are two of them in the boss fight against the Tempest Golem. And it also helps to have lots of AOE damaging artifacts, like the aforementioned Updraft Tome, and some other ones like the Harvester and Satchel of Elements. Once you clear out the two zones that spawn enemies, the Tempest Golem will be vulnerable to attacks.
I started playing PES 2021 in the middle of 2021. I was a like a year late because I was still having fun with PES 2019. I did give PES 2020 a try, but it had too many glaring issues that I couldn't get past. PES 2021 on the other hand, which is really like a patch plus a roster update applied to PES 2020, is a much improved game. So much so that I actually stopped playing PES 2019 to really give it a try.
For my first Master League season in PES 2021, I decided to play Manchester United and used the club lineup. This meant that I had the players that were really part of United's roster at that point in time. That didn't last though as I quickly made changes to the lineup to better suit my play style.
So for my first Master League season with Manchester United, I decided to replace H. Maguirre with K. Manolas as my main CB. Honestly, H. Maguirre in this game is just too slow. If a speedy opposing player gets past him, there's no way he is catching up. And when you have a slow CB playing against fast wingers from elite teams like Liverpool and Manchester City, there's just no room for error. Manolas on the other hand is an awesome defender. Strong enough and fast enough to play against elite strikers in the game.
I also got Kostic to play LMF. This was because I was trying to play my preferred 4-4-2 diamond formation. And in that formation, I was playing Rashford at LMF, which he was having trouble with. Actually, I was having trouble with Rashford at LMF. With Kostic at LMF, that allowed me to move Rashford to SS, where he was much more of a threat and was less prone to getting injured.
After taking a long break from the game, I've recently come back to Ghost Recon Wildlands. This is a wonderful game if you like military shooters and an open world. It's kinda like The Division, but with more realism (no spongy enemies here) and the option for AI teammates.
This game requires patience and strategy, something you'll needs lots of once you get deeper into the game. That doesn't mean it's a bad game. It's just built different. Maybe even built for a different time (even if it only came out back in 2017). New games now are all about instant gratification. This game is more about delayed gratification, if that even makes sense. This game is more like Metal Gear Solid, where you spend a good amount of time planning your moves, then executing them perfectly. It's more like Chess instead of say Tic Tac Toe.
This review gives a good look at what makes Ghost Recon Wildlands great.
It's 2021 and I'm still playing Pro Evolution Soccer 2019. The game-play clip below is a great example of the core game-play loop that keeps me coming back for more.
After a few moments of terror, frantically trying to clear the ball out of the box, I get a second or two to breathe. Then it's straight into a counter attack. My excitement building as I start to see passing lanes forming before my eyes. It culminates into a shot at goal, at which point I get off my seat and silently scream (because the kids are sleeping), GOOOAAAALLLLL!
Found myself playing XCOM 2 and ended up frustrated once again. I very nearly got my whole squad wiped out in a “Retaliation” mission. The Muton enemy was so strong. It was able to consistently hit my soldiers who were in good cover and those who were on the rooftops with regular cover. Initially, I had it disoriented, which made it ineffective in combat. But I didn't have enough Flash-bang grenades to keep it disoriented until I could take it out.
I tried a new tactic of falling back into an overwatch position during firefights. The intent here was to avoid getting shot, while at the same time, giving my soldiers a free shot at approaching enemies. It works well against regular enemies. But it didn't work at all against the Muton.
I did learn one good tactic for a “Retaliation” mission that involves saving civilians. That is to make sure that the soldier approaching the civilians has a shotgun or a sword. And that the squad's sniper, has good line of sight to the civilian being approached. This is so that in the event that the civilian turns out to be a Faceless enemy, the sniper can shoot it, taking a good chunk of hp in the process. While the soldier who approached it, can finish it off with a shotgun or sword.
This is what my typical lineup looked like, during a game in the 2022-2023 Master League season.
Had an amazing game against FC Barcelona.
Due to the way they were defending, I couldn't keep the ball in the center of the field. Once I pass the ball to my AMF, he would have just a few seconds before he is dispossessed. It's just not enough time to build up an attack. So, I tried a different way of attacking. I went from sending short passes into the center of the field, to lobbing through balls over their defenders.
I noticed that Goios times his runs perfectly. But even after a perfectly timed pass, Goios is just not fast enough to get to the ball before the defender clears it away. This happened 2-3 times before I realized, it is not going to work with Goios. That's because Goios only has a Speed rating of 70.
So, at the 55 minute mark, I decided to take Goios out and brought in K. Gameiro — one of my more promising strikers. The important thing to note here is that Gameiro has a Speed rating of 90. That makes him the fastest player on my team.
Finished my 4th Master League season (2021-2022) and I finally won a title as a manager. My team, Paris FC, were crowned Ligue 1 champions. It was a welcome result after a heart-breaking loss to Real Madrid in the European Club Championship. For next season, my goals are to win the French Cup and progress farther in the European Club Championship.
I'm at the Inquisitor Fortress in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. I'm stuck in a place where I have to fight through wave after wave of enemies. This includes going up against Purge Troopers who are tough in battle. One in particular, wielded a huge sword or hammer, as big as the one that Cloud (from FFVII) uses. That enemy does AOE stun/lockdown damage. Need to be wary of when and where they strike, so as not to get damaged.
In the early fights, the platform splits up into separate sections. I can use Force Pull to cause enemies to fall through the gaps.
Finished my 4th Master League season (2021-2022) and I finally won a title as a manager. My team, Paris FC, were crowned Ligue 1 champions. It was a welcome result after a heart-breaking loss to Real Madrid in the European Club Championship. For next season, my goals are to win the French Cup and progress farther in the European Club Championship.