2015 was not
a banner year for me gaming-wise. Compared
to all of last year, I've already finished 2/3 as many games less than two full
months into 2016. I can blame the slow gameplay of the second half of the year
on crazy overtime at work. But even on days when I got off work on time, I just
felt drained, with very little desire to do much of anything. I rarely even had
energy to sit and watch a movie for two hours, much less play a game that
requires active interaction. And don't get me started on my lack of drawing.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Saturday, May 2, 2015
2014: My Gaming Year In Review
Wow, it's
already May and I'm just now getting around to my 2014 gaming recap. I've sat
down to write this blog entry several times, but I either get distracted by
other things or simply can't gather up enough energy to make the effort. Sadly,
that's a pretty accurate reflection of my gaming these days.
So, I'll
jump right to the stats before something else comes along...
Monday, October 13, 2014
Sitting This One Out: Pre-Sequel Apathy
Borderlands
2 is one of my favorite games of last generation. If pressed to make such a
decision, I'd probably say it was tied with Saints Row The Third for the top
spot on my list. Between the 360 and PS3 versions, I spent over 300 hours on
Pandora. Only the Elder Scrolls games brought me anywhere close to those
numbers.
And yet,
with Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel releasing this week, I feel my interest in the
new title to be next to zero.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
My 2013 in Games
So much for blogging
more... This is the first blog entry I've made in two months, since I resolved
to write more to get the most out of my new computer. But I suppose the new
year give me a new opportunity to try again. I'm not going to make a fancy
declaration, just a casual determination to have the most productive year ever.
And since this blog only received less than 20 entries in two years, it really
shouldn't be too difficult to surpass that. We shall see, of course.
Looking back
at 2013, it was pretty productive clearing out my backlog. A little too
productive, perhaps...
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Stepping Away From The Big Reviews
I love making comics. I enjoy obsessively playing video
games. I like writing so much, I often have a stupid grin on my face while I'm typing
at my computer. And I relish any opportunity to discuss video games.
So why did the prospect of writing another in-depth review
of a video game derail my motivation so much that I had to take a lengthy
hiatus from my creative endeavors?
Perhaps it's my straight-forward approach to the subject
matter. I set out to avoid the snarky writing that's a staple of the internet
era. As a result, I wrote reviews that were devoid of much excitement. I don't
regret taking my reviews seriously, but maybe it was too much against my
nature.
I always struggled with the level of information I included
when drafting a simple game analysis. I know it's not my job to explain every
feature in a game, but was I giving enough info to justify why I love or hate
it so much? Do I need to spell out every aspect of a funky new multiplayer mode
if I'm just going to dismiss the addition with a written shrug? I'm naturally
long-winded in my writing; brevity is something I've awkwardly attempted to
juggle for years, usually failing spectacularly. These reviews brought out the
worst case of rambling I've contracted in a long while. For every sentence of
information I added, I felt I needed two more to be consistently thorough in my
reporting. This caused a seemingly endless loop of revisions to rearrange
earlier paragraphs now that I had decided to expand on concepts I had already
touched upon.
This process dragged out the writing process so much that it
became the main source of delays in my comics. I could play a video game, be
inspired for a comic idea, draw the full comic and then... it would sit there.
The process of arranging my thoughts into a complete and somewhat-concise
review sometimes took longer than all the other steps combined. Often the
looming dread of having to organize my thoughts would be enough to stutter my
creative impulses, to make me not even want to play games. It just had to stop.
I had to stop.
So that's where I stopped. But I miss the comics. I started
drawing Those Games We Play as a way to fuse my passions of playing games and
making comics. And I'm going to return to making the comics, and they'll
remain focused on games like they always
have been. But the full length reviews are out. I'm sticking with the 3-4
sentence blurb reviews that accompany the comic strip, but none of the
over-long blog types. That's definitely not to say I'm out of the rambling-blog
business, far from it! I have a lot of video game related topics to passionately
babble on about. Especially with the Next Generation of consoles arriving next
week. I want to reflect back upon the last few years of gaming, about lessons
learned, about changes to my gaming habits, and about my hopes for a bright,
glimmering future. From time to time I may even write something that
essentially an in-depth review, but only when I'm emotionally invested in the
subject and not just because it's my routine.
Friday, April 26, 2013
Video Game Review - Star Trek (2013)
Although I
enjoy the movies, and was a big fan of the Deep Space Nine television series, I
don't really have much experience with Star Trek video games. I played Legacy
on the 360 a few years ago, and found it to be rather dull, with sluggish,
awkward space navigation. I also have faded memories of shooting geometric shapes
vaguely resembling Klingon Birds of Prey in a Star Trek game on my parents' Vectrex.
That was the game with the giant Space Sombrero, right? Regardless, I didn't
bring much enthusiasm with me to this creatively-titled new Star Trek game.
Licensed
games are always at their worst when they tie into a movie, as they're usually locked into a production schedule to match the film's release date. You'd
be hard pressed to find such a game that couldn't greatly benefit from a few
more months of work. But here's a game that could have used a trip back to the
drawing board.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Video Game Review - Bioshock Infinite
The original
Bioshock was an amazing game. It was incredibly immersive and had plot twists
that left me speechless. The creepy atmosphere was so well-crafted that my
horror-movie-loving girlfriend refused to be in the room while I played it
because Rapture's residents freaked her out with their insane ramblings. The
sequel focused more on the action rather than the story, which was a wise
decision as trying to recapture the original game's uniqueness would have been
folly. Bioshock is back, but with a new setting, and a chance to strike a new
chord in gaming history.
The story
seems rather straightforward; the protagonist, Booker, is sent on a mission to
free Elizabeth from her fairy tale imprisonment in a tower, part of the
not-so-perfect society that exists in the cloud-based city of Columbia. The
phrase "Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt" is intertwined in
the story as much as "Would you kindly" was part of the first
Bioshock. When you finally meet up with Elizabeth, you begin a rocky
relationship filled with compelling conversation and useful scavenging. Perhaps
the most remarkable thing about escorting Elizabeth through the increasingly
violent streets: she's a boon, rather than a burden, even during combat. Not
only can she pick locks and open magical "tears" to provide useful
objects, she'll also find money and ammo to help you out in your time of need.
And best of all, she manages to stay out of harm's way while bullets are
flying. When the game separates you from her, you will definitely miss her
presence.
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