Me, Myself and Games

Photo

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 13:23:28 -0500

Photo

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 08:40:03 -0500

look at tumblrstaff(.)com right now.. wow

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 22:53:42 -0500

No.

I seriously can't even believe this.. they're STILL giving free stuff away at TUMBLRSTAFF(.)COM and it worked for my sister. Did you do it yet?

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 22:36:00 -0500

Ok, that time, it was a question. Congrats!

"I love fantasy. I love horror. I love musicals. Whatever doesn’t really happen in life is what I’m..."

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 23:41:36 -0500

““I love fantasy. I love horror. I love musicals. Whatever doesn’t really happen in life is what I’m interested in. As a way of commenting on everything that does happen in life, because ultimately the only thing I’m really interested in is people.””

- Joss Whedon

(via siddhicineblog)

live-at-leeds: oh my god

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 23:41:28 -0500

live-at-leeds:

oh my god

tumblr has lost its mind.. they're actually giving stuff away though.. at tumblrmarketing(.)com

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 10:23:16 -0500

That’s not a question.

Photo

Thu, 31 May 2012 15:57:20 -0500

YESSSSSSSSSSSS

Sat, 12 May 2012 14:18:59 -0500

YESSSSSSSSSSSS

I can’t even explain why I love this, but I do.

Thu, 10 May 2012 13:50:00 -0500

I can’t even explain why I love this, but I do.

I love politics because I am disgusting.

Wed, 09 May 2012 21:08:05 -0500

I love politics because I am disgusting.

Nick Cage

Fri, 04 May 2012 10:18:26 -0500

Nick Cage

Gorgeous

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 21:31:18 -0500

Gorgeous

If the flavor is blue rainbow why are almost none of them blue?...

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:12:23 -0500

If the flavor is blue rainbow why are almost none of them blue? And what makes them hoppin’? (Taken with instagram)

Xenoblade Chronicles is Disappointing

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:11:52 -0500

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Xenoblade Chronicles.

Xenoblade Chronicles is a disappointment. Petitions were signed, letters were written and the community preordered the game in mass –until Nintendo finally released the game in North America. IGN called it the best Japanese RPG of this generation. Other reviewers agreed; out of 58 reviews on Metacritic, not a single negative one.

But I can’t agree with those reviews. I came in expecting a lot out of this game. I had been promised a lot. But there are flaws, and many of them.

Story is the driving force in an RPG. Without story, there is no point in continuing. Xenoblade Chronicles has the pieces to build a great story, but the pieces don’t fit. It attempts to tell a story driven by revenge and heartbreak. Early in the game, players suffer a tragedy. Shulk’s childhood friend, Fiora, is killed in front of him by the Mechon.

This scenario is old news for RPG fans and is repeated in game after game. The most infamous scenario is represented in Final Fantasy 7 when Aeris is killed by Sephiroth. This scene hits hard for gamers. I’ve literally known grown men who cried at this point in the game. And that’s because they’re emotionally invested. They had time to get to know her. When she was murdered, they didn’t feel like a kid holding a controller, they felt like Cloud – they saw someone they loved killed before their eyes.

Aeris’ death is largely considered one of the saddest scene in any video game.

Xenoblade Chronicles fails to do any of that for me. The game tells me Fiora is my friend, but it doesn’t show me – it doesn’t make me believe it. You barely spend any time with her before she is snatched away. She was just the girl who brought you soup once. Her death is tragic, but isn’t motivating. Her death drives Shulk and Reyn on a quest of vengeance, but falls short to drive me to continue playing.

The JRPG genre has its flaws, most notably how long and complex the games are. The first 10-20 hours of a JRPG can be called a tutorial for the rest of the game. Some love it, some find it begrudgingly necessary, and others outright hate it. Xenoblade takes this to the extreme, however, and the only word for it is boring.

What do you get accomplished in the first 10 hours or so of Xenoblade? You fight against the invading Mechon to defend your colony, your friend is killed, and you set out to avenge her death. Essentially, you leave the first location in the game, and finally set out for the next. This takes an inexcusable amount of time, even for a JRPG. And isn’t so much steps backwards for the genre, as it is leaps.

Even compared to other games in the genre, it is slow. Kingdom Hearts 2 has a rough beginning that often tarnishes an overall great game. But within 10 hours you are miles past the beginning or tutorial phase, you have probably traveled to a few different worlds, and you are hooked. Even a slower paced game like Final Fantasy 9has a more engaging start. You enter the Kingdom of Alexandria as a theater troupe, kidnap the princess, lose your best friend, and defeat three psychotic robot mages. All that in just a few hours, not the 10+ that Xenobladewill steal from you.

FF9 has evil robots too, it just gets to the point much quicker.

Why should we accept the praise that Xenoblade is the future of JRPG’s when it worsens the genre’s existing problems to the extreme?

It’s possible to nitpick other parts of the game that deviate from JRPG mainstays. The game doesn’t tell you how much experience you need to level up and the menu’s overall are clunky, devoid of organization, and lacking detail. But these are small problems and don’t really affect the overall experience as much as cause annoyance and confusion.

Graphics are not the most important quality of a game, especially an RPG, but they can make or break a game.Xenoblade Chronicles takes place in an original, beautiful world. But the way it’s presented makes it seem bland and unappealing. Some critics have given compliments to the game’s visuals and blame the lack of quality on the Wii’s underpowered specs. This excuse doesn’t fly with me.

Monster Hunter Tri and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword both proves this false. Those games are stunning and vibrant, especially when you consider what platform they’re on. They outclass Xenoblade in terms of artistic style and detail. In comparison, I can’t help but stare at the blank world of Xenoblade and feel disappointment.

Monster Hutner Tri does an amazing job of showcasing the Wii’s graphical abilities.

The dialogue doesn’t match with lip movements (and there is a lot of dialogue); finer details such as hair and hands don’t recall memories of last generation, but the generation before that; and the world seems empty. A location often looks devoid of life from a distance, but in actuality, is swarming with monsters that just weren’t rendered yet.

It makes me sad to play through the game and see the potential for great art. It doesn’t help that preorders of the game were bundled with a gorgeous art book either. That just makes it easier to see what you’re really missing.

I don’t think I’m being harsh, or overly critical, or bitter. Xenoblade Chronicles has just proven to be a underwhelming in too many ways.

I think I can get away with blaming my caffeine addiction on my...

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 11:46:31 -0500

I think I can get away with blaming my caffeine addiction on my journalism major (Taken with instagram)

will you ever post nudes or at least a shirtless pic? (:

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 11:05:26 -0500

lolwut?

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 11:04:50 -0500

Kid Icarus Uprising Review

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:11:36 -0500

It’s been over 20 years since Pit last took to the skies to battle Medusas’ army. Kid Icarus Uprising has been a long time coming, and it was thankfully worth the wait. The game is cute, humorous and filled with action. While it appears as more of childish title, that is definitely not the case. Kid Icarus is fun across the board and just as enjoyable for the hardcore gamer, as it is for the casual one.

The story starts predictably. Medusa is back and Lady Palutena sends Pit to battle the forces of the Underworld. However, the narrative eventually expands and becomes more diverse, throwing the player into unexpected (yet believable) story arcs.

Throughout his adventure Pit will meet a number of new characters; some friend and some foe. Humans, gods, and goddesses will all add their own twist to the story and keep it interesting throughout.

While the plot is decent, the real charm derives from in-game dialogue.

Strangely, the unnaturally humorous writing kept me going even after the gameplay became stale. Banter between rivals like Palutenaand Medusa isn’t the usual bickering present in games. Enemies will often joke around – often at Pit’s expense – as much as threaten each other. One aspect I found particularly appealing was how characters would often break the fourth wall. Characters refer to enemies as a boss or mini-boss, and even make references to the first game. Dialogue is also present to provide tips and hints in areas of confusion. Palutena will often alert you of a new enemy’s weak spot, or divulge the secret to defeating a boss.

While the conversation between characters is entertaining ear-candy, it’s unfortunately difficult to pay attention to, due to the high energy of the game. Kid Icarus is loaded with action that requires constant attention. Getting distracted by the dialogue can have disastrous consequences. I often found myself missing important info because I instead decided to concentrate on dodging attacks.

This is especially prevalent during the flying portion of the game, which has you continually performing aerial acrobatics. These segments of the game are on-rails, meaning players simply control Pit’s on-screen position.

While initially interesting, nearly every level begins with you taking flight, and overall there aren’t many creative differences level to level. The environment changes, but at its core it’s the same. This serves to sour the gameplay, particularly later on.

Land battles stray away from the on-rails gameplay, letting you explore how you please. This is where the game runs into its biggest problem. The controls are twitchy and almost ruin the game. I died many times from attempting to evade attacks, when I instead fell off ledges. Additionally, fighting the camera in Kid Icarus can be just as challenging as fending off the Underworld Army.

Eventually, the game becomes manageable after adjusting the controls to your liking, although, even towards the end the controls won’t feel comfortable. Especially in regards to the vehicles, one of which (the Exo tank) stands as some of the worst driving controls in any game period.

As much fun as Kid Icarus is on the 3DS, its gameplay would lend itself to the Wii control scheme much better. Holding the system and using the stylus at the same time is awkward and uncomfortable – so uncomfortable that the game comes with a free system stand to ease player’s pain.

Visually speaking, this game showcases what the 3DS can do fairly well. The smooth textures easily outclass any other 3DS game on the market, besides Resident Evil: Revelations. Though, the visuals do get a bit muddled when playing in 3D. Kid Icarus also exhibits a wide variety of environments between stages. One level has you flying through clouds on a sunny day, while the next may drag you to the dreary Underworld.

One feature of Kid Icarus Uprising that I found particularly innovative was the difficulty system. Uprising throws away the traditional “easy”, “medium”, and “hard” settings in favor of a much more user-friendly method.

You can make the game as dangerous as you want. Before each mission you’re prompted to bet hearts (the in-game currency collected from defeated enemies) to determine a difficulty between one and nine. Playing through on easier difficulties will allow you to breeze through the game, but offers less rewards. While playing at a higher difficulty offers a much greater challenge, but also pays out more.

The game does a good job of recommending what difficulty to play on, reflecting based on performance. That being said, straying from the recommendation can be harmful to the experience. If you go to low, the game may bore you. Too high, and you will be punished by intense, unwavering enemies. In the event of a game over, a portion of your wagered hearts are lost and the challenge automatically scales back. Instead of making you start from the beginning, it will thankfully throw you back a checkpoint.

I was worried that the multiplayer would be a gimmick at first, but it’s surprisingly one of the best parts of Kid Icarus. Grabbing a friend or two and launching into one of the game’s two multiplayer modes can be endlessly entertaining. “Light vs Dark”, which is essentially just a team battle, and free-for-all are the only two modes present on the game, but it doesn’t really need others. I’m not exaggerating when I saw hours can be lost to Kid Icarus’ multiplayer.

All in all, Kid Icarus Uprising is a solid game that suffers from a few problems. Controls are frustrating at first, but become more bearable over time. The charm of the story, character dialogue, great visuals, and addictive multiplayer greatly outweighs any bad aspects of the game. Kid Icarus is a must buy for any 3DS owner.

Cane sugar Dr Pepper… No words (Taken with instagram)

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 20:47:37 -0500

Cane sugar Dr Pepper… No words (Taken with instagram)