UtRR's SEP 2021: Josh Jones turns 10!

[cranebump]

And, yes! We mean that mentally, as well!

 

Annnnnnd, we’re back! Just in time for (a) Fall!

Thankfully, that orange bar thingy there is faintly inaccurate. ‘Course, when you’re only level 9, everything seems like Power Supression.

 

Tonight’s Under the Radar Review hidden treasure features:

Excellent! I always wanted the skinny on...Okay, who the hell is RCM?

 

M1:

I am welcomed to the story by a pair of massive shoulders:

Those eyes...how they glisten with compassion and...um, never mind…

 

So, as part of Siege’s personal reformation project, I’m to track down a former NP citizen. And not tell the PPD. No problem. I never tell anyone the things I do - while I’m going them.:-)

 

NOTE: Titles are in plain white text. Give ‘em some color, so’s they can burn my retinas!

 

Praetoria...where they’ve perfected door aesthetics…

 

Okay, so the Resistance is definitely casual these days:

Except for that one guy back there, who’s like “LOCK AND LOAD, BI...Hey, can I borrow that paper?”

 

So, missing person found. And, evidently, so is his stuff:

Like, seriously...we can replace all that sh*t..l’il help?

 

Rescue is a it of a long run, since Praet tunnels are long, long, long.

 

Btw, the PPD showed up. I didn’t invite them. NOT MY FAULT!

 

M2

So mish 2 is another rescue missing person, and a defeat all. So, I’m thinking….map size…How many Destroyers are there? Well first room sez:

 

...lots…

 

So, found another homeless guy, and what does he do?

Hefty, hefty, hefty!

 

And that’s not all!

Take that, h...er, YOU!

 

Actually, right now, this is rather amusing…:-)

 

NOTE: I I have to kill them all, why am I still leading this guy out? I mean, like….who’s gonna stop me? No ambushes.

 

FYI: These guys…

...count in the defeat all…

 

M3: 

Tour of Praet baddies continues with a visit to Syndicate. And another missing person. Who probably will not DROP HIS GD BAG AND FOLLOW ME!

 

So, offer go and:

Deja vu…

 

Getting a dose of my own KB medicine:

Either that, or I am auditioning for the circus.

 

Never mind that! Grab your shopping cart and let’s go!

 

So map is TINY, which makes a defeat all, a-okay.  Actually was fun. P.S. My glowing head=I just popped L10.

 

M4:

Tour continues. Seers now. I havet to eliminate corrupt ones. But, man, ain’t they ALL corrupt? I mean...c’mon...Mother Mayhem? That nut don’t fall far from the...nut bush…

 

Bit more complicated this time.

 

Oh good...disembodied mental voice soothing me indicates Mayhem is here…:-/

Then again...hmmmm,...

 

Okay MY mother never dressed like THIS:

Erm...what did you just say?

 

Not spoilering the why, sorry.

 

Now THIS is glowie placement.

 

M5:

So now to go after who’s REALLY behind all this.

 

Speaking of: 

What am I s’posed to do with these guys? ‘Cause if I have a choice? TANGO, MY FRIEND!

 

And what tour ot Praet baddies would be complete without:

Ticktickticktick...
 

So, since I can’t spoiler it, I can’t report about the very clever twist in finale. You think you’re going to be facing ‘A,’ but instead, you face ‘Q.’ Not like omnipotent, irascible Q, but something unexpected. Like, you think so-and-so gonna be there, and they’re not, but then they sorta...are? Anyway, clever twist at the end.

 

Good stuff:

• Clean and edited.
• Plot twist worked out well, because of defying player expectations (in a good way).
• All the Praetorian bad people are adequately represented.:-)
• Solid spawn points.
• Mayhem’s outfit. 

 

Tweaks:

• Colorize dat arc title, and the subtitles, as well, I’d say. This is a fairly standard practice.
• The gangs all here (but do they have to be?): Tour of all the bad guys makes for nice variety. I’m on the fence about whether it was necessary, as it fragmented the arc’s, um, “identity,” for lack of a better term. Guess it’s okay, since I’m being sent on a component hunt, and components can be all over. So...maybe this is no big deal. I just know it felt like I was checking opponent boxes at some point. Just my opinion, natch.
• “KILL ‘EM ALL!”: save for the tiny map mish, I’d get rid of that, mainly as players generally don’t like it.
• Long run: I personally didn’t care for the long slog back to the door in M1. I have the guy. Must I get to know him (and his shopping cart?):-)
• Also: Objects are part of defeat all in M3, but they aren’t mandatory objectives. I don’t know that players will skip them, but, if they do, they’ll have to turn around and destroy them if they pass them up as non-essential due to not being listed as such.
• My kingdom for a verb!: Bit more direction as to what we’re doing in some cases, especially when we need to Defeat someone. Couple of objectives are just the target name. I think this works on Mayhem, because you want her role to be a surprise. But the others? Nothing is really gained by leaving it nebulous.

 

VERDICT: 4/5. Solid Praet arc. Couple of nice twists (I thought “boss” obj in M5 was very clever). Clean and edited. 

 

Play if: You can’t get enough of Praetoria (or Barry White).

Don’t play if: You don’t like Praet maps, vills, and those beautiful, beautiful doors.

 

That’s all folks. Happy Autumn and all that. Try not to drown in Pumpkin Spice.

 

Vaya Con Frijoles,

Crane

Edited September 16, 2021 by cranebump