Cblogs of 03/21/13 + Shadeisms

Well, this week was certainly uneventful. Seriously, nothing happened!

I haven’t had the time to play many games, since I’ve been working for most of it. I have it on good authority that none of you would be interested in that, so I’ll leave that be. And other than that, there really wasn’t much to go into a lot of detail about. A couple of quick comments though, before I give the floor to our bloggers.

- Project Curaga is still going strong. I’m managing to keep my new schedule pretty well, and I’m already starting to get used to it; I was actually up before 7 today! That hasn’t happened since high school as far as I recall. I had almost forgotten how much of a morning person I used to be, but it seems like it’s returning to me now. Feels good!
I haven’t had problems with tiredness since I started it either. Except at night, but I’ve been told that that’s when you’re allowed to get tired. Imagine that.
I’ve still got at least two Cblogs I want to do in the near future, and I feel like I’m getting back into the spirit of writing again, so look out for those. Or don’t, whichever.

- I have reconfirmed that reading while on public transport renders you completely invisible. I had my suspicions earlier, but now I’m sure. I always read on the train (two hour trip, twice weekly) because if I’m going to be sitting still anyway I should at least try to do something with my time. I also tend to sit alone in between compartments since that’s the quietest spot on the entire train. Every so often people will make a phone call there or mutter to themselves for a bit, but none of them have ever seemed to notice I was there, no matter how intimate the conversation. Last Sunday some girl came up to where I sat reading and literally started loudly making a phone call with someone about her latest….shall we say…”escapades” with another girl. She literally went on for a good half hour and discussed everything in detail. And I do mean everything. Not once did she seem at all bothered by the fact that there was a guy sitting not 3 feet away from her who, although having a book in front of him, could hear every word.
Invisible, I tell you. As for that conversation, it was…enlightening, to say the least.

- I’ve finished Mark of the Ninja. It is stellar. Awesome game, great stealth, go play it. No excuses. Should probably go more indepth about this one, but maybe another time.

- I’m pretty sure I’ve finally almost finished Darksiders 2. I liked it a lot, but I didn’t always have the time to play it as much as I wanted to. I think it’s also a perfect example of how a sequel should be done: it’s similar enough to justify it being in the same series as the original, yet it has a very different approach to progression and character building. Both games have strong points over the other, and ultimately I’d say I like them both equally. For me, that’s the best thing a sequel can ever do. Darksiders 2 could’ve used more angels and demons though; they’re the best thing about the IP, but there were only a few of them in this game. One thing in particular I did like about 2 is the music. It was very atmospheric, and it fit the game rather well. There aren’t many in-your-face fast songs (because the game isn’t particularly fast and in-your-face), which I think gives them a certain feel that I really appreciate.
Either way, hopefully I can finish Darksiders 2 today, because:

- Tomorrow I’ll be getting Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate in the mail. I won’t actually be able to play it until Sunday, and I’ve got an exam next week which is going to eat into my game time a bit as well. By the way, I just found a list of all the new things that were added over Tri. Damn. I’m getting super excited for it now, more so than I ever thought I’d be. It’s gotta be the Bows. 115 of them, in fact.

- I bought Rayman Origins in the last Steam sale. It is a platformer, and therefore I love it. I’ve heard some people call it better than Mario, but while I disagree I can certainly appreciate the somewhat different mechanics that Rayman brings to the table. I do wish there were more actual platforming levels though; every world seems to have at least two levels which really don’t add much to the whole experience and are more focused on grabbing “coins” or being a shmup. By the way, remember how we were supposed to be able to play Rayman Legends by now? Yeah. Dicks.

- I got the first two seasons of Sam & Max in the GOG Choose 5 sale last weekend. I had already played those, but I don’t have them anymore, so I decided to rebuy them. Playing them now in between other things. I must say they definitely aren’t as good anymore now that I’ve experienced The Book of Unwritten Tales.

- I also got The Chronicles of Riddick in that sale, which I’m really looking forward to trying. I’ve never played it before but I love the Riddick movies. Vin Diesel in general, really. Please don’t hit me for that.

- The final two games from GOG were The Witcher and Divinity 2. I don’t normally like WRPGs, because at some point I just lose track of where to go and what to do. Fortunately, a friend who does like them a lot has assured me that “WRPG =/= Open World”. That sounds like it would be a strike against a game, but for me it was actually very reassuring. I’m interested in seeing whether or not these games will earn my love in the end. I’m certainly open to them, but I'm not sure what I’m getting myself into…

Well, I guess as far as “nothing happened” goes, at least my backlog got a heck of a lot bigger this week…

* - How can somebody ever hate Half-Life 2? Marcunio shows us how. Fortunately, his hate didn't last.

* - Lance that is also gun? Axe that is also sword? Giant musical warhammer-thing? You name it! After his first blog on Monster Hunter, Collateral E goes indepth about the many weapons in Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate.

* - Pixie has managed to finish Fire Emblem Awakening, and loved it. This one's speaking sense!

A - Who's up for hate cake? Bibbly argues that gamer's hate culture isn't a bad thing, and that we should be outspoken about things we dislike.

A - A fellow Dutchman chronicles his life of piracy. You are a shame to our great nation sir!

A - End credits or 100% completion? How much time did YOU invest in the games you consider "done"?

A - This list of best scarves in video games was great until it featured Hope. That asshole ruins anything he's in.

A - Ugh, screw rain. I guess it's nice to play video games while it's raining outside, but otherwise no sale. Still, some games have good rain IN them, and Megakrang shows us a few.



So good

F - PC FNF, and sick Swishiee. Feel better man!

D - This kickstarter isn't going too well, so the dev asks if we can spread the word on A Jumpers Tale

R - A review of the third in the Metroid Prime series. The Wii control scheme was stellar.

V - Here's a couple of underappreciated games. It has NieR in it, therefore you must watch it.



This song is WEIRD. Still love it though



With Eevee being my favorite Pokémon, this song makes me feel really strange



Please tell me there's stuff like this in the game



- ShadeOfLight
May you always find water and shade


FPotD