Category: Virtual Tourism

Virtual Tourism

What is Virtual Tourism? Well, I’m a gamer, and I play MMO and PC Games when I can. When I do, I take virtual photographs of the remarkable worlds I visit. Then I share them with you so that you can get a peek at these fantastical worlds. I also want to share the love for all the work done on these amazing games.

Virtual Tourist – Subnautica 5/12/19

Mini Movie Review

Pokemon Detective Pikachu

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pokemon Detective Pikachu – This movie was so cute! It was awesome seeing all the pokemon with actual fur, feathers, etc. The story is more complex than expected. There are lots of red herrings to keep the audience guessing. All the weird stuff, like Pikachu being understood by Tim, all have explanations. This was a fun little film. I just wish they’d given Jigglypuff more camera time! Lol.  Rating: 3.75 out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price to See Again!)

Subnautica

subnautica - giant sea creaytures

This freaked me out. You could hear moaning through the water, but seeing it was such a surprise!

subnautica - giant creature closeup

There are six or more of them, all different ages. You can tell by looking at the top carapace. This specimen is an older one. He has all sorts of plant life, coral and even some minerals on his shell.

subnautica - the underbelly of the giant beast

A picture of the beast’s underbelly. They are truly fascinating.

subnautica - sunset on an alien world

Sunset on the alien world. There is a lot of beauty here.

subnautica - glowing life form

Glowing life form. Quite beautiful. The fauna and flora changes depending on what zone you find yourself in.

subnautica - glowing plant life

Drooping Stinger – gorgeous but don’t get too close. They pack a bit of a punch. So be careful. (I also got carried away and let my oxygen get too low. Time to panic! lol.)

subnautica - burning Aurora and the moon.

The still burning Aurora and the reddish moon. 

subnautica - dry land

There is more than just water everywhere! Here’s some dry land. Rescue is imminent. A passing spaceship picked up Aurora’s distress signal.

subnatica - signs of aliens

We are not alone! A building of alien origin. Might there be alien lifeforms here as well? 

I did want to wish all the Mom’s out there a fabulous and well deserved “Happy Mother’s Day!”

Happy Mother's Day!

 

Virtual Tourist – Subnautica 5/5/19

Morning!

No mini movie review this week. Still fighting with some unspecified health issues. I’d hoped they would have figured it out by now, but no such luck. Ugh

Subnautica

New game! (For me, anyway.) It’s a survival/exploration game. Most of it is underwater. You can tone down the number of issues for your survival. I skipped needing food and water. Air seemed hard enough to contend with. 😛

The game is also a mystery story as well. Exploring and trying to find other survivors lead you to clues explaining why you are there and the reasons somethings have happened.

Subnautica - Aurora

This is Aurora a ship belonging to the Altera Corporation. For reasons unknown at the beginning, the ship is about to crash on the planet below.

Subnautica - upper hatch of survival pod

This is a pic of the upper hatch of your escape/survival pod. Half the stuff is not working and your PDA has also suffered data damage. (The PDA houses your inventory, schematics, scan data, locations, and other info.)

Subnautica - Aurora's flaming wreckage

The wreck of the Aurora. Until you get some schematics and improve your diving suit, the area is too radioactive to approach.

Subnautica - first person view

This is the underwater area just beneath the escape capsule. Gorgeous graphics! You can see your health bar and oxygen on the left. Keeping track of your oxygen is SUPER important. 🙂

Subnautica - shallow area flora

Coral, fish, and underwater plants. You have a scanner that you use to gather data. It will also let you know if there’s stuff you can make with it or if it is edible, and more.

Subnautica - escape pod

The outside of the escape pod. You can see the moon peeking behind it.

Subnautica - underwater at night

The shallow area is gorgeous at night! A lot of the plants and fish glow in the dark. So beautiful!

Subnautica - red moon

Night view from the surface of the water. Fires from the Aurora are darkening the view of the moon/planet with smoke.

Subnautica - celestial companions

Celestial companions.

Subnautica - sunrise

Sunrise on the planet. Beautiful but it has its dangers as well.

Have a great week!

Virtual Tourist – Tales of Bersaria 4/28/19

Mini Movie Review

Avengers: End Game – First off, be aware this movie is 3 hours long! It won’t feel like it, but your bladder will know. So FYI! lol. There was a lot to like about the film. Tons of emotional fodder and we get to see characters that have been gone for a while. Tons of humorous and serious moments. Some fun mixed character interactions. It’s only in the last half hour or so that the plot becomes forced as there are certain things they want to happen, regardless of the fact there are better alternatives. They also don’t take certain facts into account during least one of the time travel moments.

(SPOILERS!!!!!) – Quill getting bushwhacked on the dead planet. They totally ignore the group of bad guys who show up on the planet when he’s there. An unconscious Quill would mean a Dead Quill (by alien rats or by bad guys!). Plus the two picking up this rock would have been ambushed just like Quill. (These guys were acting separately from Thanos’ other peeps.) Doctor Strange/Iron Man – Strange wields power, and like the Ancient One, uses the Eye of Agamotto. So would he not be better able to survive or shield himself when using the five Infinity Stones? Yet that avenue is never pursued in any way. Cap’s decision at the end – while for me it was a squee moment, on further thought there’s no way he could pull it off. Would someone of his moral fiber be able to not fight crime or injustice when he could make a difference? All for selfish gain? I think not. (Plus this also gives the finger to Bucky! He gets left behind!) Also, while the moment with Falcon was very moving, but if you’re not acquainted with the comics, it seems strange, especially since he’s not done any leadership before this or has been shown to have powers of his own.

I was disturbed by the fact they held a funeral/vigil for Tony, but they did nothing for Natasha! Why did they not do both together? They knew all the same people. Why would they shut her out like that? She doesn’t get her own movie and now no sendoff either? Come on!

I was able to ignore some of this stuff way better than hubby. Just be warned! Super build up and awesomeness for convenient letdowns. Rating: 3.5 out of 5. (Hubby’s Rating: Better for Matinee. (Yeah, he was not happy! lol)

Tales of Berseria

Tales of Berseria - Inn

Some really nice details! I believe this is an Inn at Loegres.

Tales of Berseria - winter in town

A super cold winter. Not that Velvet feels it.

Tales of Berseria - crystal caves

Crystal caves. What are those exorcists up to?

Tales of Berseria - jungle type caves

Moss filled caves, almost jungle like. The goal is near.

Tales of Berseria - coast

Gorgeous coastal view! Look at that sky!

Tales of Berseria - locks

One of the many ways the Abbey is restricting the populace. Giant lock system restricting trading by ship.

Tales of Berseria - Airfried's Ship

The pirate ship Captained by Airfried. He’s currently missing, captured by the Abbey. Velvet and her companions have joined them as they have similar paths and goals.

Tales of Berseria - ships coming to port

Heading to port. Really love this ship!

Tales of Berseria - calm seas

View from port out to the open sea. Calming, isn’t it? 🙂

Tales of Berseria - church

I will say the Abbey does have some impressive churches.

Hope you have a great weekend! Till next time. 🙂

Virtual Tourist – Tales of Bersaria 4/21/19

Morning!

Mini Movie Review

Hellboy – This film is like a reboot of the Hellboy franchise. Think of it as a prequel/retelling. It’s very well done. The cast was great! While Ron Perlman did a great job in the previous two films, it has been 12 years since the last one. David Harbour picks up the mantle seamlessly. Great special effects, loads of action, even some twists and turns. Overall, it was quite enjoyable! Rating: 3.75 out of 4. (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price to See Again!)

Tales of Bersaria

The big betrayal! This is where all the bad stuff truly begins.

Artorious – Velvet’s brother-in-law and mentor. Now turned murderer.

A spell in motion.

Artorious’ Malach companion. Three years later she’s seen enough of what he is doing to know he has to be stopped. She releases and is later consumed by Velvet. (Malach are a spirit race, which until recently couldn’t be seen by humans.)

Velvet is free of her jail cell, but must now fight her way out. Her only thought, revenge.

Velvet and Artorious’ Malach.

Magilou – a witch also imprisoned in the island jail. She’s an enigma of sorts. Is also hardly ever serious and loves to poke at all the members of the group. Yet there’s more to her beneath her odd facade.

A closeup of Velvet.

Typical Magilou. 😛

The first town Velvet and her new companions see after the boat they stole crash lands. Huh, I didn’t take a pic of Rokurou. 🙁

Hope you and yours have a wonderful Easter.

Virtual Tourist – Tales of Berseria 4/7/19

Morning!

Mini Movie Review

Shazam

Shazam – I will admit, though I love Zachary Levi, I wasn’t too sure how this film was going to turn out. Luckily, it more than met expectations. The kids were fantastic! Plus the film had other elements they did not touch in the previews, which made for some unexpected surprises. The movie has a lot of levity, but it also shows there’s darkness. Evil doesn’t just come from monsters. Rating: 3.75 out of 5. (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price to See Again.)

Tales of Berseria

This is a Japanese console game that has been converted for PC. You have the option of both English and Japanese for the voice-overs, which is nice. Unlike some games out there that have been brought to PC, they did an excellent revamp on this one.

I’ve not played this type of game before, where you have multiple characters that fight in a group, and you switch and maintain all of them. But the learning curve hasn’t been too bad. 😛

Tales of Berseria

This is Velvet. The start screen goes through a small sequence and she walks towards you as the game loads.

Tales of Berseria

There is a demon blight that has spread across the land. One that turns people into monsters. Monsters that attack everyone around them.

Tales of Berseria - Velvet's village

This is Velvet’s village. She lives here with her brother-in-law and her younger brother.

Tales of Berseria - forest

This is the forest just outside her village. The graphics are lovely. The little figure on the lower right means there’s a dialogue sequence you can start by pressing ‘T’.

Tales of Berseria - ruins

A set of ruins past the forest. They sit a top a cliff overlooking the ocean. It is here that bad things will happen and alter Velvet forever.

Tales of Berseria - night at village

Velvet’s home at the village. Places you can enter have the blue dotted ring at the entrance.

Tales of Berseria

Inside Velvet’s home. That’s her younger brother, Laphiset. He’s a little sickly, but very bright. Velvet is rather overprotective of him.

Tales of Berseria - ocean

Lovely view, no? Laphiset wants to see the world! Velvet just wants him safe.

Tales of Berseria - closeup of Velvet

A touching moment with her brother.

Tales of Berseria - ceremony

That night, however, is when everything changed…

Have an awesome week!

Virtual Tourist – GRIS 3/10/19

Well, between the health stuff, company merger, and daylight’s savings time, my plans today were put in peril. But I will persevere!

Mini Movie Review

Captain Marvel – Depending on who you are and how deep you are in comic book fandom will make a HUGE difference on what you’ll think about this film. It’s a popcorn flick, entertaining with a lot of cute moments. As long as you don’t look below the surface, it’s enjoyable. Seeing a young Coulson totally did it for me. 😛 I thought Brie Larson did a great job. There’s been a lot of flack about her not being able to act, but I didn’t see that. If anything, I have to give her kudos for not just acting with words and expressions but her whole body. Carol Danvers’ confident and easy attitude screams from the character just by how she walks down a corridor after the first escape.

While the errors regarding canon are many and various, some of the other problems were just lazy. For example, the Skrull Talos spoke like some punk out of the ’80s and ’90s when, if you take into account the timeline as presented, he had not yet spent much if any time on Earth. (If he had, there would have been several critical bits of information he would have already known about and therefore made the movie moot!). Another big one was with regards to the Kree. All Kree have blue skin, and all the movies and TV shows have presented them that way. The only exception is sometimes some have patches of pure white skin (which makes them looked down on). Rather than try to come up with a plausible reason to tell Carol why her skin was different, they just turned half the Kree population Caucasian. Lazy.

If you can ignore stuff like that, you should enjoy the film. It had a nice pace, cool effects, excellent combat sequences, and Goose. I did love that they let the Skrulls have their super funky chins. Rating: 3.25 out of 4 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission.)

Virtual Tourist – GRIS

GRIS - flower gardens

The gardens are a wonderful area. It is also where you pick up the ability to SING!

GRIS - the power to sing

Singing affects things and is also visual. The rings you see here are from her voice. It also makes flowers bloom!

GRIS - garden

Love the luscious colors.

GRIS - fog

The unknown. Look a the gorgeous pastels!

GRIS - garden hallway

An underwater hallway in the gardens. You can’t sing as a fish.

GRIS - flip zone

The bush is made of water, so I can swim in it. The yellow line flips the gravity. Gliding past the top drops you up to the floor/ceiling of the other side. Lol.

GRIS - moonlit garden

I love the colors, the implied textures, even the depths.

GRIS - final song

A half inverted area and major singing spot.

GRIS - meeting the self

The star path to the meeting the tortured self.

GRIS - a tomb

It is just darn pretty!

Hope you’ve been staying warm out there. Winter is still trying to hang on, but it is a losing battle. 😛

Virtual Tourist – GRIS 1/27/19

Greetings!

It feels like forever since I’ve done a post. To say 2019 has so far been an insane roller coaster ride is an understatement. Between gallbladder surgery, year-end/ at work, the audit, some medical scares with hubby, and more, my tray has been more than filled. I am ready for things to slow down!

I did get a steam card for Christmas, so I bought several games to keep me occupied. GRIS is a platform game in 2D with lovely visuals, many giving a 3D impressions. It’s filled with puzzles and colorful changing vistas and no words. One neat thing about the game (aside from its evil imagination and lovely presentation) is how things that are a hindrance in some sections you end up having to use to help you finish puzzles!

GRIS

GRIS beginning

You begin the game just as you see above. No explanations.

GRIS landscape

You wander through a desolate landscape.

GRIS flying creature

Loads of interesting fauna and flora.

GRIS discovering RED

Once you find some stars and are able to follow the path, you will discover the color red.

GRIS - RED

You find yourself in a harsh and angry land. Yet one still filled with beauty.

GRIS columns

There are neat formations everywhere. The one constant in all the lands are the various statues of a woman crying.

GRIS duality

Neat images like this one abound.

GRIS weeping

Emotionally moving images abound.

GRIS discovering Green

Once you discover Green, the more colorful the world becomes. Each color discovered adds new depths to the surroundings.

GRIS spiritual bird

This large bird recurs many times and is one of the giant animals spurring the girl forward. It isn’t always friendly.

The music in the game is also lovely. It enhances the mood and even hints at coming changes. A super imaginative game, leaving you stumbling around much as the main character is, yet with discovery and wonder around every corner.

I hope 2019 is treating you well!

Virtual Tourist – Witcher 3 11/18/18

Morning!

I fell off the planet again and will most likely fall off again next week.

I had a gallstone attack a couple of weeks ago. First time I’ve had one! At least to where I knew something was wrong. I had some scans, and they found the stones. Now I am going to have my gallbladder removed. Whee! (Thus the reason I’ll be falling off the planet again.)  Wish me luck!

Virtual Tourist

Witcher 3

Witcher 3 - magic portal

Yennefer has opened a magic portal for travel. Whenever you interact with someone long enough or learn a lot about them, they get entered into the character entry book. (Yes, I forgot to hit the Home button to get rid of the UI. DOH)

Witcher 3 - palace

One of the large rooms in Emhyr var Emreis’s castle.

Witcher 3 - Northern Temeria

View of Northern Temeria and one of the villages.

Witcher 3 - Members of the Wild HuntMembers of the Wild Hunt looking for clues to Ciri’s whereabouts.

Witcher 3 - Leader of the Wild Hunt

This is the leader of the Wild Hunt and supernatural bad guy. Mean looking guy!

Witcher 3 - Ciri

This was an unexpected surprise. In certain points of the game, when getting information about Ciri from those who’ve seen her, you get to be her to reenact that particular set of events.

Witcher 3 - magic portal

The women mages are in hiding as their’s a price on their heads. This temporary portal belongs to Keira Metz.

Witcher 3 - Keira's secret place

This is Keira’s secret place. It’s where she goes when she can’t stand being the village witch anymore. Lol.

Witcher 3 - ruins

A gorgeous view as I approach a set of small ruins.

Witcher 3 - closer look at the ruins

A closer look at the ruins.

Wish me luck! Hope to be back to soon!

Also, next Saturday is Small Business Saturday. You can help small business and small publishers by shopping their wears.

ChibiChains - Small Business Saturday Small Business Saturday - Zumaya Publications Small Business Saturday - Yard Dog Press
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Virtual Tourist – Deus Ex: Mankind Divided 10/28/18

 

Morning, all!

Mini Movie Review

Hunter Killer

Hunter Killer – a sub movie! Woot! Hubby has been chomping at the bit to see this one. 🙂 The film has all the submarine movie tropes and then some. Some of the big pieces on the plot don’t quite fit or point you in directions never followed up on, but ignoring those, you’re in for a fun ride. Multiple groups are involved in the mission, so you get action from several directions and by various groups. Rating: 3.25 out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price to See Again!)

 

Virtual Tourist

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - subway trakcs

No subways are running from the station, so Jensen has to make his way over on foot.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - newspaper

The electronic newspaper in the game. Headlines and stories will change as the game progresses. Nice way to give players more info.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - main suspect

Look at the awesome wrap around screen! Sweet!

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - cabal

Close up picture of the augmented troublemaker following the orders from the cabal. 😛

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - chandelier

That is one cool chandelier!

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - cool room

The rest of the place is nice, too! This one gives a better view of the room.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - underground

A meeting underground

Deus Ex: Mankind DividedCulinary delights – grilled mouse on a stick.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Aerial view of the city of London!

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

The DNA strand buildings are too darn cool!

That’s it for this week. Hope you have a marvelous day!

Virtual Tourist – Witcher 10/21/18

 

Morning!

Weird week. All the rain and cold were trying super hard to make me sick. I muddled through – yay! But somehow though we thought we had Fan Days this weekend, we did not actually have a booth. Boo! But it’s given me time to fight against catching a cold. Yay! But I didn’t get much done this weekend. Boo! Lol.

Mini Movie Reviews

Crazy Rich Asians

Crazy Rich Asians – this film has been out a while, but it’s still going strong. The preview clips I’d seen were awful, but hubby had read good things about it, so we took a chance. Glad we did. Most of the film is in English with a dabbling of subtitles here and there. It’s a love story as well as a clash of old vs. new, familial responsibilities vs. self, rich vs. poor, and other clashes. All the little details and side characters made the film adorable and quite funny. There are a lot of lovely views of Singapore as well! The film was a lot of fun. Rating: 3.75 out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price to See Again!)

 

Witcher 3 – White Orchard

Look at that gorgeous sky! Lots of beautiful scenery abounds!

Witcher 3 - White Orchard

As you can see in the picture, the flora is super detailed. Lovely!

Witcher 3 - White OrchardGorgeous! I could look at the clouds all day. Lol

Witcher 3 - White Orchard - horses

I took this one because of the free-roaming horses! The game also has deer, rabbits, and other fauna running around.

Witcher 3 - White Orchard - Griffin

My first main Witcher contract. Hunt down and get rid of a Griffin running rampant through the countryside. Not an easy task!

Witcher 3 - White Orchard - Griffin

An actual sacrificial lamb.

Witcher 3 - White Orchard

Geralt has been looking for his girlfriend Yennerfer, but she finds him instead.

Witcher 3 - White Orchard - YenneferYennefer – Geralt’s girlfriend before he lost his memory in the original game.

Witcher 3 - White Orchard - Yennefer and GeraltYennefer has convinced Geralt to go with her. His foster daughter Ciri has been seen and is in danger from the Wild Hunt. (I love the look she’s giving him! Hee!)

Witcher 3 - royalty and Geralt cleaned up

Geralt after a mandatory bath and shave. (Hilarious situation, really.) Emhyr var Emreis, the ruler of Nilfgaard sits in the back. He wants his daughter Ciri found. His reasons are not quite the same as Geralt’s.

Stay dry! Stay healthy! Have fun!