Magpie Gamer

I don't know much about musical theory, nor am I a musically inclined person. However, I do love to listen to video game soundtracks. They can be a powerful listening experiences in their own right, or be as evocative as the scores composed for film. Each of these posts will feature a sampling of music tracks from a single game title, or series/franchise in some rare cases. A complete list of these can be found on the Video Game Music page. Composer: Michael McCann Singer: Andrea Revel and Courtney Wing North American Release Date: August 2011 Set in the year 2027, the story follows Adam Jensen, a security officer for Sarif Industries, a company that develops controversial artificial "augmentations". After an attack on Sarif, Jensen undergoes extensive augmentation and investigates the shadowy organization behind the attack. McCann handled production, performance, mixing, and arranging of the soundtrack. The non-linear nature of the gameplay and sto...

Story Set after the "The First War Against the Empire" in the fourth era, a member of the now disband group known as the "Blades", seeks refuge from Thalmor agents in their hometown only to find it has been destroyed following Imperial tax collection gone wrong. The former Blades member aids the people by rebuilding the town and ensuring the safety of those that remain. Character customization is extensive for a mobile game. Gameplay The player character has a hometown they can walk around, shop, and talk to NPCs. A number of quests can be started by talking to people and destroyed buildings can be restored or upgraded with materials gathered from questing. Quests are selected from the map screen and all involve dungeon crawling down linear corridors. The player taps the screen to select where they would like to go and loot is gathered from chests. Wandering enemies are fought by tapping, holding, or swipping the screen. The player also has a set amoun...

JOURNAL ENTRY 9 Inside the city of Solitude I'm greeted by a crowd of people gathered to watch the execution of Roggvir - a former guard. According to the crowd, Roggvir opened the city gate for Ulfric Stormcloak after he killed High King Torygg, allowing him to escape. Roggvir expresses no regret for his actions and the townspeople cheer as his head hits the floor. Not many seem to have a kind word for the man. His childhood friend, Sorex Vinius, claims Roggvir was a cruel man that loved pulling-pranks, such as leaving beehives in beds. Guard Captain Aldis says he was an honorable man but that the execution was justified and necessary. A shady argonian named Jaree-Ra is quick to pull Raan aside. He is offering the "new face" in town some not-so-legal work. Lots of boats dock at Solitude - boats carrying people, war supplies, and paychecks. He wants Raan to put the light out at the lighthouse and in return Raan will receive a cut of the spoils from the shipwreck. ...

JOURNAL ENTRY 8 For his services to the hold, Raan is granted the title of Thane and given the right to purchase a plot of land in Morthal. Morthal may not be the prettiest hold, but its quiet, isolated and dangerous. A good fit for D'raan. I buy the land and get to work building an entry way and main hall. There are three wings that can be added onto the home, each with three different room options. East Wing additions are an armory, kitchen, or library. North Wing additions are a trophy room, storage Room, or alchemy laboratory. West Wing additions are a bedroom, greenhouse, enchanter's tower. In keeping with D'raan's skill-set I choose to build an armory, an enchanter's tower, and a trophy room. The house is now finished but unfurnished and I'm broke. The bustling city of Solitude is within a day's walk from Morthal and sure to have work for a mercenary. A blizzard kicks up and then dies down just as quickly as it started. Two frostbite spiders s...

A necromancer build is hard to pull off in vanilla Skyrim but doable. It can be an interesting change of playstyle as it relies on your thralls to do the work for you. The most difficult part of the build is staying true a 'necromancer' and not deviating too far into 'summoner' territory. Race Any race will work, but Altmer and Bretons start out with a boost to their conjuration skills. Altmer also get +50 Magicka and the "Highborn" (Regenerate 25% magicka per second for 60 seconds) race perk, while Bretons get 25% Magic Resistance and the "Dragonskin" (Absorb 50% of magicka from spells for 60 seconds) race perk.   Skill Trees Restoration: Restoration will be needed to heal oneself, regenerate magicka and stamina. -Regeneration(20): Healing spells cure 50% more. -Recovery (30): Magicka regenerates 25% faster (50% for second rank). -Respite (40): Healing spells also restore stamina. -Necromage (level 70): This increases the maximum level of ...

Monster Hunter Stories: Ride On is a 2016 Japanese animated television series based on the spin-off game of the same name in the the Monster Hunter video game franchise. The first season contains an astounding 48 episodes, so I will be covering them in four parts; one for each twelve episode DVD release. This is part 4 of a four part series. Reading Part 1 first is advised. Opening Song: Panorama (by Kanjani) Credits Song: N/A Spoiler Warning: I am going to give a synopsis of each episode and my opinions at the very end.

Castlevania is an American animated television series based on the video game series of the same name. The third season is primarily an original work that borrows characters and elements from the 1989 entry Dracula's Curse and the 2005 game Curse of Darkness. The series was originally planned as a direct-to-video movie back in 2007, but entered development hell until around 2015, when it was picked up by the streaming service Netflix. Over the years the script had morphed from a movie to a trilogy and a proposed live-action production. Netflix allowed the writers to keep the original 2007 script and the team worked closely with Konami, who helped to identify continuity issues. The show drew visual inspiration from Ayami Kojima's artwork, particularly Symphony of the Night, and used a production staff consisting of members with experience in the Japanese animation industry. Opening Song: Main Theme (by Trevor Morris) Credits Song: Let Me Kiss You (by Trevor Morris) ...

  The children of a café owner discover through an old wizard that their comatose mother is part dragon. To revive her, the kids will need to raise a baby dragon to help stabilize their monther's conflicting human/dragon blood types(?) while also managing the café. The old wizard then spends each day standing at the foot of the mother's bed, leaving the unsupervised children to their own devices. There are 12 chapters in total, each one featuring a mini-story with a new patron that gives the game an episodic feel. The core story loop revolves around the arrival of a new quirky character with a problem they can't solve. Over the next few days the gang gets to the root of the problem and then solves the issue with food. There are a host of human and non-human visitors to the Little Dragons Café; anything from a goblin thief afraid to visit his disapproving mother, to a rowdy ghost noticed by everyone except his still living girlfriend, to a kitty pop-star struggling with her ...