Learning LOTRO: Trick or Treat for Extra Life

The first mini marathon for Extra Life is coming this weekend! You're invited to participate in the mischief and collect some treats for yourself!

Costume Quest, Part One: Bullies, Grubbins, Candy & Apples

Part One of my escapades in Costume Quest, in which I out-maneuver a bully with some sweet air time, lay the smack down on some Grubbins, collect all the candy, and bob for apples repeatedly because mini games are fun.

[This blog entry is part of a series taking place throughout the month of October.]

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So, I mentioned last time that your sibling gets kidnapped by a Grubbin (ugly green guys who are stealing all the candy in town) because your lame-o sibling is dressed up like a piece of candy corn. They've been thrown over this massive, ominous-looking gate and the only way to get it to open is to trick-or-treat your way through all of the available neighborhood. To do this, there are a bunch of other things you have to do.

The first obstacle, after you get your swanky robot costume restored (we've gotta find that witch and figure out why she blew our costume away in the first place) is getting past this gang of kids dressed up like mummies. The leader is hitting a kid dressed up like a knight, and you decide that just isn't cool with you.

After the bully foolishly tries to race you (swift-skating robot that you are), you get some sweet air time by going over a ramp while the bully crashes into a pile of trash cans right in front of the local police officer -- who threatens to call his parents, which sends him running home. You become instant besties with the knight in shining armor and gain access to another costume's powers when you fight the Grubbins.

Your new buddy Everett suggests a visit to Sadie in the park, who apparently sells things called Battle Stamps. By trading candy for these stamps, you get some sweet bonuses during your battles. I was reluctant to part with my candy at first, but some of the fights were actually rather hard (and I was defeated -- but thankfully didn't lose anything valuable) and I told myself I'd just whack more stationary objects with my candy bucket to make it rain candy.

The park also contains one of my favorite things I've encountered thus far: bobbing for apples. It's a fun, timed mini game that offers different prizes as you play -- notably candy, but also a nice Creepy Treat. Green apples give you 3 points, red give you 1, and you're gonna regret biting into one of those wormy apples -- bleck!

There were other quests to tackle in the area, of course: 6 trick-or-treaters hiding around the neighborhood (the reward is your second candy bag); having to put together a patriotic costume to get into a kid's patriotic party so you can steal cherries from his tree; giving said cherries to your principal who's blockaded a street with her bake sale and won't let you pass until you help her out; trading Creepy Treats with a couple of the local kids; and trick-or-treating at all 20 of the area's houses. Once you get all 20, the Grubbins are called away and that massive gate finally opens, letting you and Everett go rushing off to save your unfortunate, less-cool sibling.

I'll let you know how that goes next week. For now, here's the current total in the competition between myself and Green Owl. He promises to give me more competition next week when he can put in some more game time! (Bring it!)

1 point for every 100 candy pieces, 1 point for each other category lead.

I hope you're enjoying the Halloween adventure so far, and I truly wish I could share some of the gameplay with you. I encourage you to look for other Extra Lifers who might be streaming this game this month! As always, please consider donating to help the charity. Every dollar is #ForTheKids.

How to Trick-or-Treat All Month Long

 
Yeah, you read that right. Sweet, sweet candy throughout the entire month of October. How? Let me tell you about Costume Quest.

Costume Quest is this amazing game by our lovely friends at Double Fine Productions. The game originally released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2010 and wouldn't reach PC gamers until a port happened a year later. It was later made available for Mac and Linux through a Double Fine Humble Bundle, in case you needed any further proof of how awesome they are.
 

If you have had the misfortune of never hearing about this game, I will enlighten you: Some ugly dudes are stealing all the candy in town, have taken your sibling (mistakenly), and you have to trick-or-treat your way through the neighborhood collecting costumes that let you have Power Ranger zord-like battles to earn battle stamps, racking up your candy total, and finding neat things like creepy treats.


Basically, if you liked all the glory of trick-or-treating as a kid, you're going to enjoy this game. I promise. Pinky-swear, even.

 

So, throughout the month of October I will be playing the game bit by bit, and I'll be doing my best to share some of the highlights with you (which probably means spoilers, so you've been warned!). I've streamed the game in previous years on Twitch for Extra Life, but have yet to actually finish the game. My motivation this time? I am playing to compete! My wonderful team member, Green Owl, is also going to be playing the game throughout the month and we're going to compare our loot collections once a week. The winner will get bonus points for the Mascot Mayhem competition. He's also from Spain, so I don't know if any of the American Halloween culture will go over his head or not -- I'll let you know!

I can't really say much else about the game just yet. I know this witchy chick pictured here is some kind of antagonist-y villain who finds you annoying. But just when you think she's ruined your night more than your crummy sibling and ugly candy thief have, someone points you in the right direction...

The next blog entry will either be the first update on Costume Quest progress and loot collections, or a very overdue team member interview. Whichever it is, I hope you'll keep reading and enjoying what I share. Please remember I'm doing this #ForTheKids and they'd appreciate your donations.