Don't get hit.

I have on previous occasions written about the Sniper Elite games series, seeing as I'm a long term fan.

The latest game in the series, Sniper Elite 5 is perhaps my favorite in the main series, and I have played it a lot, so much in fact that I have the weapon master medal. Then I ran into the problem of wanting to play, but needing a challenge. There is of course Authentic difficulty, which I may yet try, but I came up with an alternative:

The No Damage Challenge.

These are my rules.

1. Difficulty is set to Sniper Elite.

2. All objectives must be completed on each map.

3. You can leave enemies alive, it's not a kill everything challenge.

4. If you have alternative starting locations unlocked, you can start maps anywhere.

5. You can use any and all weapons you own.

6. Collectibles are optional. Grab them if you like, but they don't count for the challenge.

7. The challenge only covers the main campaign, include DLC missions if you want.

8. It doesn't matter if you are seen, it's not a ghost challenge.

9. You can save the game in case the game crashes, but you can't save scum.

10. If you take even one point of damage from any source, you must start the entire campaign from the beginning.

The idea came to me after seeing a video about people who play all the Soulsborne games, i.e. Dark Souls, Bloodborne etc. without taking a single hit. That is of course a lot harder than Sniper Elite, but trust me, this challenge is not as easy as it seems.

I have previously completed multiple maps without taking any damage, but for some reason, this is really hard. With multiple attempts behind me, I still haven't passed the second map mission. One reason for this is obviously nerves. Knowing that the run can end at any time really ramps up the tension, which is of course what I wanted. Another reason is the inclusion of random elements in SE5. Traffic is a good example. What “should” be a clear area can suddenly have multiple enemies because a passing truck spotted a dead soldier, and now you're in real trouble.

All it takes is one enemy spotting you and shooting you for the whole thing to end. It's frustrating, but so much fun. And it really breathes new life into a familiar game.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time, and until then, have a great week!

 

Perspective and Psychology.

 Hello and welcome back for some more eccentricity!

I recently discovered a fascinating person called Rory Sutherland. This is how Wikipedia describes him: 

"Rory Sutherland is a British advertising executive. He is the vice chairman of the Ogilvy & Mather group of companies. He writes a fortnightly column in The Spectator and has written several books, including Alchemy: The Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense".

I want to link some videos about how we are manipulated by marketing, but also how we perceive the world around us. Things like how the key to McDonalds success is in being consistently not awful, how the biggest competitor to Coca-Cola is Redbull, despite its awful taste. How painkillers are more effective if the pills are red, and much much more. If you have any interest in such things, you need to hear what Rory has to say.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!

 

 

 

6 Days

I recently watched the Netflix movie:

 

6 Days (2017)

This movie is all about the Iranian embassy siege in London in 1980. However, since I can't really recommend it, I needed a new plan. Suffice to say, 6 Days is not a bad movie, but it is poorly balanced. The story and characters are all over the place, and the story is a bit disjointed. It doesn't tell any lies as far as I know, but it leaves out a lot of details. It feels like a mini-series that has been cut down to a movie. Good actors, yes, and I don't feel like my time was wasted, but not as good as it could have been. Watch it if you want to.  

Instead, I want to give you an excellent two part documentary about the Iranian embassy siege by the Youtube channel Simple History.

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plEm4bv5ByQ

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XepH_iWdbeY

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!

 

What if?

Occasionally I like to indulge in alternate history. One way of doing this is going to the Youtube channel: 

stakuyi  

Stakuyi is a complete history nerd, and one of his passions is playing the grand strategy game Hearts of Iron 4. This massive WWII game is incredibly multifaceted, allowing you to experiment with a large amount of scenarios, based on realistic if sometimes unlikely factors, since the game is extremely well made. 

 

As a sample of the fun to be had, I present:

 

What is Finland won the Winter War?

 

What is Switzerland actually did something? 

What if the Pope had super heavy tanks?

I'll embed the first video for your convenience, you can find more on your own if you want. But that's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!

Laughter is good medicine.

 When times are hard, a good laugh does wonders. With that in mind, I present two of Sarah Millican's stand up shows. 

If you're not familiar with Sarah, she's a British comedian from the north of England. She has a knack for blending wholesome stories with some surprisingly spicy stuff, and she's always funny and charming.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week! 

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